♠⛥ The End ⛥♠

This is the end, beautiful friend

This is the end, my only friend

The end of our elaborate plans

The end of everything that stands

OK, maybe not everything. But it’s the end of these regular weekly blogs/posts/podcasts. For a while, at least.

Why? I’m getting old. As simple as that. I need to prioritize my time as it streams past my incredulous eyes in ever-faster, ever-shorter bursts. The time previously dedicated to churning out these weekly messages will now be better spent elsewhere.

I’ll still post from time to time, when I have something specific to say. A new book, a new story, a new collection of Short poems. Book fairs, special discounted prices, or whatever else comes up.

If anyone cares what happens to Connor and Dale in Big Day Out, they’ll have to grab a copy from the usual places, all listed at www.bit.ly/BurningBookLinks

Or from me.

It’s been a blast. Keep on rocking in the free world. Or wherever you may be.

Cheers.

⛥

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 have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.
www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.
www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

⛥

For a different experience, listen to extremely amateurish Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

Also now on www.bullhorn.fm/burning-books

⛥

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.

⛥

♠ Fate’s warning ♠

“This is nuts. You’re going to kill millions to create your vision of the world.”

“Oh yes,” agreed Debbie. “It’s for the …”

“Greater good?” ventured Connor. “The Nazis practiced genocide on an industrial scale. What you’re proposing will make that seem like a bar brawl. In an empty bar.”

Debbie beamed at him, mouth slightly open. Her tongue ran across her upper lip.

“But we have ways of convincing people. We get some people to buy in just because they don’t want to die. Some believe as we do, that humanity needs to be purged. Some see the old systems as corrupt and are looking for a new solution. Some people’s lives are so mundane they are looking for escapism. Some people want to build a better world, wipe the slate clean, starting with all our fabulous new technology. People like you can be slightly problematic, but let me put it this way.” Debbie edged closer to the bars.

Connor took a step back. Arms folded.

“We need people like you, Connor,” Debbie whispered through the bars. “Survival rates for women are nearly four times greater than men. We will have a shortage of fertile men and a glut of women. Women aching to repopulate the world. When our goals are complete, don’t you fancy being put out to stud?”

⛥

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 have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.
www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.
www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

⛥

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.

♠ No more mister nice guy ♠

“Wait.” Connor looked from Debbie to Dale. “If I have any kind of virus, then the radiation, or whatever, given off by this clown,” he gestured to the top bunk where Dale had hidden himself under a blanket, “will be killed along with me?”

Dale’s breath was quickening. Connor hoped it was because of the lack of oxygen under the blanket, but the gentle squeaking from the bunk bed suggested otherwise.

“That’s right. Anyone who comes out alive after four hours with Dale has proved to be virus free and earns themselves a place in our New World. Can you imagine a human race free of viruses?”

“You’re insane,” glared Connor. “Hot, but insane.” He had dated several women like that pre-lockdown.

Low groans came from under the blanket.

“And is that normal?”

“He’s a breast man.” Debbie smiled. “You’ve only got twenty minutes more to go, so it seems you’re going to live. And … well … you know.”

“I don’t know, but I’m getting there. If I had died then you would have left me here for Dale. As a plaything.”

“Just for a couple of hours. He doesn’t like it when the bodies get too cold. He doesn’t mind male or female. It’s weird really, because, like I say, he’s definitely a breast man.”

“Yes!” cried Dale.

Please don’t show me, thought Connor.

“How are you going to test seven billion people if he insists on humping each one he kills? There just isn’t enough time.”

“Seven billion? Where have you been? World population is under six now. There was far too much economic uncertainty after the lockdown. Many didn’t feel it was the right time to raise a family. Death rates were small, but one of the experimental vaccines’ side effects was male sterility. Plus, we’re taking stem cells from him. We’re growing little Dales. We’ll have a virus-free world in three years.”

⛥

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 have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.
www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.
www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

⛥

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.

♠ Angel of death ♠

Connor had to tear his eyes away from Debbie’s smile – and her more distracting assets – when Dale started whooping like a banshee on heat. The kid had leaped off the bed and was bouncing around in circles, whirling his arms above his head and spraying saliva everywhere.

“Are you sure he’s been tested?”

Debbie laughed softly behind him. “Oh, he doesn’t have the virus. But anyone who comes into contact with him, if they have the virus, or any other virus – even if they’ve never shown symptoms – Dale’s special genes will reactivate the disease, accelerate it to the point where immune systems spike off the charts and the underlying virus burns itself out.”

Connor looked back at her. “So he’s the cure? You don’t need me?”

She laughed. So did Dale, but his was less jiggly. “You could say that. Dale will clean the world of every virus. But when they burn out, those viruses take the host bodies with them.”

Connor looked back at Dale. “The angel of death…”

Dale threw his hands in the air, head whipping back and forth. “Infamous! Butcher! Angel of Death!”

Connor took a step back from the manic scream that erupted from the little man’s throat. “What the…?”

“We let him listen to music now and again. He has a few favourites.”

Now Dale’s thrash fit was over and he beamed angelically across the room. “Debs, will I get my usual reward if I do what you ask? If I’m a good saviour?”

“Of course, Dale, my poppet.”

Dale’s eyes grew wide, seemed to spin in opposite directions. Connor spun round to the bars, but was too slow. Debbie was lowering her top back into place.

⛥

Check out the Smashwords “Read an eBook Week” sale, now on. Free & discounted books, including mine.

www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos

⛥

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 have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.
www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.
www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

⛥

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.

♠ Welcome home (sanitarium) ♠

“I haven’t got the virus. I’ve been tested.”

“Then you’ll die from something else. Suffocated in your sleep, most probably. If you live that long.” Connor walked the three paces to the door and pulled on the handle.

“You’re funny. I like you. I’m Dale. Did I mention that?”

“You mentioned that you were going to tie the sheet around your neck and hang yourself from the top bunk.” Connor sat down again.

“I did not.” Dale started laughing.

“What are you, Dale? Black ops? The Drop? Or just another lab rat?”

Dale giggled into his hands. With his Cheshire cat grin removed, Connor noticed his eyes for the first time. One was blue, the other brown. They weren’t both on the same page. One looked at Connor – in fact, seemed to look straight through him – while the other one roamed the cell.

“I’m the saviour of humanity.”

Right. That explained everything. Connor had finally been thrown into a padded cell. A cheap one, with no actual padding.

Debbie spoke from the allegedly sane side of the bars. “Imagine. You’re finally doing something positive with your life.”

Connor approached the bars. Not the kind of bars he was used to approaching. And not the kind of reception he was used to receiving.

“Alright. You’ve made your point. Now let me out. Or get your top off. Or both.”

Connor grinned at her through the bars, hoping they hadn’t installed some kind of shock collar while he was out. He reached a hand towards his neck, to check.

But she smiled back sweetly. “All in good time. We’ll be moving out shortly. This place has seen too much movement over the past few days. Somebody must have noticed. Once we’re in the new safehouse, we can get down to business.”

“And save humanity?” Dale was on the edge of his bunk, bouncing up and down with unrestrained excitement.

“Yes, Dale.” She looked over Connor’s shoulder, smiling even more sweetly. “Now you get to save us all.”

⛥

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 have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.
www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.
www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

⛥

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.

♠ Enter Sandman ♠

Connor woke with a searing headache and blurred vision on the bottom bunk in another small room. At least he wasn’t tied up this time. He sat on the flimsy mattress and rubbed his head, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. He looked around the room. Harsh fluorescent tube lights tried to penetrate his skull.

He stood, groggily, and ran his fingers through his hair. Mouth dry, head pounding, bars on the door. This wasn’t the first time he’d ended up in jail after a bender. He went to the stainless-steel sink and ran the tap. He drank and washed his face and couldn’t help but feel disappointed that he wasn’t hungover and he was still trapped in the same nightmare.

“You’ve been out for hours,” came a voice from the top bunk. A voice so cheery and full of optimism, Connor wanted to punch its owner.

“Shut up,” he growled.

“You were snoring.” A face peered from the top bunk. Wide eyed and smiling. “Debbie brought you in.” The face formed a leering grin. “You must be special for her to be involved. I’m Dale, by the way.” He held out a bony hand.

“Tell me Dale, were you dropped on your head a lot as a baby?” Connor scanned the room for anything he could use to hit him with.

“I don’t think so. I don’t remember so well. I’m Dale, by the way.” Dale’s hand was still extended in greeting. Connor ignored it and Dale waved instead.

“Since when do we shake hands, Dick?”

“It’s Dale.”

“I haven’t shaken anyone’s hand in greeting since lockdown. Grabbed a boob or two.” Connor grinned. “That’s how the virus spreads. Morons like you shaking hands.”

⛥

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 have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.
www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.
www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

⛥

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.

($) The final cut ($)

If you save regularly, in a disciplined manner, prioritize your savings goals and control your monthly expenses, you have a good chance of building wealth over your working career.

At the very least, you should be able to avoid the worst financial pitfalls that affect even the rich and famous.

Take control of your money. Make it work as hard as you did to earn it. Stop living from paycheck to paycheck.

With hard work, and a little luck, you can escape the rat race and live your dreams.

But remember. It’s just a game.

In the words of singer, novelist and politician Kinky Friedman – “Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail.”

($)

This is the last extract from Hard Money. It’s a short book, because basic financial principles are simple. Despite being hard.

The book has just been picked up by the Department of Education, who bought a large batch for their libraries. Hopefully this will contribute towards financially-savvy learners, who will go on to become financially-savvy parents, workers, entrepreneurs and leaders.

Only time will tell.

Cheers.

($)

Get your ebook copy of Hard Money for only 99c until Monday. Anywhere except Amazon. Also available in paperback. https://books2read.com/b/Hard

($)

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.

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, or Shorty’s Poems) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Or have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.

www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.

www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

♠ Needled 24/7 ♠

“Remind me. Are we now the good guys or the bad guys? Are we on our way to overthrow the government, or is today the day we unleash a mutated strain of virus on innocent women and children?”

“Does it matter? You’re a hired gun. People used to offer you cash. Now I’m offering your life. But it’s not open-ended. We need an answer now.”

Connor tried to think. This was no longer black and white. Hell, he’d lost track of who was who years ago. Sometimes he felt as if he’d died during the initial years of lockdown, and was now burning in eternal damnation for his sins. Nothing around but death and misery and violence. Gertie had been a potential ray of sunshine in the darkness of his cursed existence. But even that had gone pear-shaped.

Or had it?

Debbie raised her gun, pointing it straight at his head. “Time’s up. There goes your inspirational future.”

Connor weighed his options as he stared down the barrel of the gun. They were few. It boiled down to redecorating the back wall of the cell with his brains, or helping whoever these people were. Was it an animal survival instinct? His opportunity to do good and set his country free of tyranny? Or the opposite, cleanse it of everyone? Partly. Although these people had denied him the chance to kill Noecker, which meant the longer he stayed alive, the more chance he would have to kill them.

“Alright then, Debs, I’m in. Now get your top off.”

He braced himself for the slap, which came immediately.

Debbie looked at the man to Connor’s right and nodded. Connor felt the needle puncture the skin of his upper arm, then he blacked out.

⛥

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 have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.
www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.
www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

⛥

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.

($) Tattooed millionaire ($)

Building wealth – delayed gratification – is just as hard as exercising or playing guitar. Hence the title of this book.

It might even be the hardest thing you ever do. There are few tangible benefits early on. Quite the opposite, in fact. Everyone around you will have better things than you.

They will seem to live better lives. People can’t help themselves. They judge what car you drive, where your kids go to school, where you live, what clothes you wear. Nobody sits around at dinner parties comparing bank balances or statements of net asset value.

Will Rogers, America’s cowboy philosopher, said that too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.

($)

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.

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, or Shorty’s Poems) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Or have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.

www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.

www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

♠ Bandaged knees ♠

“I see you haven’t changed at all.”

Connor wasn’t used to being smacked around by women he didn’t know. Not before dinner, maybe a couple of drinks. He peered up at this one, but the halo of the naked bulb behind her head obscured his vision. “Have we met? Do I still owe you money? Is that what this is about?”

She leaned forward, gazing at Connor from a couple of inches away. “You have never earned enough money, old man.”

Ah. That cleared things up. She was obviously Justin’s sister.

“Let me talk to him, Debbie.”

Speak of the devil…

The blonde stepped aside. Justin approached from the open doorway. His arms and shoulders, and one thigh, were wrapped in bandages. His face was a smorgasbord of blue and purple. But he still managed to smile as he stretched out a foot and poked Connor’s leg.

Connor gritted his teeth.

“That’s for the van. Gertie loved that thing.” Justin had dragged a wooden chair in with him. He turned it around and sat with his arms resting across the back, wincing slightly as he raised his right arm.

“Now look. We don’t have time to waste. So let me lay it out for you. Noecker’s dead. Francina is with us. And you’re tied to a chair.” He smiled up at Debbie, who drew a rather large handgun from her boot holster. “Your friend here wants to put a bullet through your thick skull. I haven’t asked why, because I don’t care. The only reason.” He held up a finger, wincing again. “Only reason you’re still alive, is that I think you might be able to help us. But even that’s only because you’ve gone through so many of our men today that we need any help we can get.”

Connor looked him straight in the eye. He’d never liked the snot-nosed bunny-hugger, but he was beginning to have a grudging respect for him.

⛥

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 have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.
www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.
www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

⛥

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.

($) Are you experienced? ($)

This book is not exhaustive. There are many ways to make more money and to cut costs. Babysitting. Walking dogs. Clipping coupons. Carpooling. Running weekly writers meetings. It would be impossible to cover them all.

And we haven’t even touched on starting your own business, where you assume all the risk as compensation for potentially huge rewards. The principles we’ve discussed here apply to business owners as much as salaried employees.

The most important factor is your mindset. Your attitude. If you focus on building wealth as your number one priority, it will happen. If you lose focus, if you allow yourself to be distracted, it won’t.

Even Warren Buffet, perhaps the most successful investor of our time, gets it wrong sometimes. His investment in Conoco Phillips lost him over $1 billion by 2012 when the oil price dropped and the company’s stock fell accordingly.

Warren Buffet’s number 1 rule was never to lose money.

His number 2 rule was never to forget rule number 1.

Of course, not everybody can be like Warren Buffet.

Some people will be better than others at building wealth. We can’t all be champion bodybuilders. Or award winning musicians. But we can all be better at whatever we put our minds to. We can become the best we can be in any field, through years of dedication and practice.

Those who stay the course see the results. If you stop going to gym because your muscles hurt, you will never be Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you give up guitar lessons the first time your fingers blister, you will never be Jimi Hendrix.

($)

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.

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, or Shorty’s Poems) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Or have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.

www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.

www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

♠ Unfinished sweet ♠

“Have I got the mother of all hangovers.” Connor went to hold his head, only to find his hands firmly restrained behind his back. His eyes came into focus only to realise there was nothing to focus on. He twisted around as much as he could on the wooden chair. A concrete room, one door, no windows and a bare light bulb.

“Hello. Anyone there? Room service? I’ll have coffee and a dozen Panado.”

The door opened and in walked a woman and two men.

“Great service,” congratulated Connor.

“What do you know?” The woman’s voice was low and menacing.

Connor looked at her and ignored the men, who walked to either side. He tried to ignore their odour. Wherever they were, showering was not high on their to-do list.

“I was in a ditch and then you smacked me in the head and now I seem to have woken up in a cliché nineties cop movie.”

“We should kill this smart arse,” growled the stink from the left, standing just behind Connor’s peripheral vision.

Connor stared the woman in the eyes. “Now, if you’re not here to give me a lap dance, will you at least get me some coffee?”

He knew it wouldn’t win him any friends, but it was certain to influence people. The resulting smack in the face almost cleared his head. He spat a mouthful of blood, happy to see that it didn’t include any teeth. He would hate to experience the end of the world without his charming pearly whites.

⛥

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 have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.
www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.
www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

⛥

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.

($) Get the balance right ($)

Much of this book may seem to be nothing more than plain common sense.

That’s because it is.

Stay focused. Work hard. Save your money.

We all know these things. They are drummed into our heads, over and over again, from the time we start school.

But we forget these rules. We think we know better. We lose focus. And we wake up 40 years later wondering what happened to all the money we sold our dreams to make.

What else have we achieved along the way? Great memories? Old friends? Spiritual contentment?

None of these would be at all diminished if you had a little more money in the bank.

But those great memories and old friends didn’t happen overnight. They took time. And hard work. Solid relationships are seldom easy.

Building wealth is the same. Anyone who wants to build wealth needs to focus on it as a conscious goal. Not an afterthought. Or they will muddle along through life and end up with whatever’s left after spending most of it.

So focus. Define monthly and annual targets. Push those numbers. You will find a way to scrape together as much as you need to achieve your goals.

($)

Join me on Saturday the 28th of January in 27 Boxes, 4th Avenue, Melville, for a Pop Up market. From 11am till 8pm.

Original South African self-published books will be on sale, with most of the stories set in and around Johannesburg.

You can also buy a copy of Hard Money for only R50.

($)

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.

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, or Shorty’s Poems) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Or have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.

www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.

www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

♠ Sheba ♠

Had the gun fight stopped? Or was it his impaired hearing? He couldn’t hear shooting any more. The sides of the ditch were too high for him to see over.

Recover some strength, find a lower part of the ditch. He started staggering, bouncing from one side of the ditch to the other. A technique he had used many times after heavy nights of drinking.

Ahead, a curved silhouette dropped down into the ditch.

“Francina?” His eyes tried to focus, but couldn’t see anything in the dark. He raised his weapon. It took all his strength.

The figure came towards him.

“Francina?”

“Yes.” A soft female voice.

Connor lowered his weapon.

“I got one!” she yelled.

“Wait, that’s not …”

The butt of her gun smashed firmly into Connor’s face before he could finish the sentence.

⛥

Join me on Saturday the 28th of January in 27 Boxes, 4th Avenue, Melville, for a Pop Up market. From 11am till 8pm.

Original South African self-published books will be on sale, with most of the stories set in and around Johannesburg.

In fact, some of the action in Big Day Out is set in Melville’s 4th Avenue. How’s that for synchronicity?

No tigers were harmed while writing this book.

⛥

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 have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.
www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.
www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

⛥

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.

($) Powerslave ($)

You could generate cash from playing the stock market. Speculating on forex movement between currencies. Investing in small business ventures. Lending money to people.

Or you could set up a balanced, diversified investment portfolio and generate passive income and capital growth without lifting a finger.

This might not bring in enough cash every single month, especially if you invest in stocks and bonds during turbulent times. You will have to work on averages over a period, keeping enough cash from the good months to cover the bad months.

But it can be done.

The basics of investing are as simple as the basics involved in managing your day-to-day finances. Don’t take too many risks. Stick with what you understand. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

John Malkovich, Steven Spielberg, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kevin Bacon and many others lost millions in Bernie Madoff’s $50 billion pyramid scheme. Madoff died in prison while serving a 150-year prison sentence.

Pyramid schemes – also known as Ponzi schemes – are not real investments. They have made many people rich, but have made more people poor. Those who get into the schemes early on tend to benefit. By the time the scheme collapses, those coming in at the end lose any money they put in.

Don’t be like any of these silly rich people, who really should have known better.

($)

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.

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, or Shorty’s Poems) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Or have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.

www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.

www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

♠ Down down ♠

Francina was already behind the trees, bobbing and weaving in an attempt to draw fire away from the plane. Connor spent too much time watching her work, remembering the good old days when they had first met and forged the deadliest infiltration team in the country.

Then Justin stepped around the fuselage and Connor was rolling and firing and swearing all at the same time.

He landed in a ditch. Fortunately, dry. Unfortunately, deep. As he gasped for breath, waiting for air to fill his stunned lungs once again, he waved his assault rifle at the stars above, hoping they wouldn’t take it personally.

The sound of gunshots filled the air above him. Connor took deep breaths and assessed the ditch.

Steep dirt walls either side of him. The darkness absolute other than the little white pin pricks in the sky above him. Narrow and long.  It was definitely a ditch.

A small object fell beside him. He heard Justin’s voice. “Catch.”

“Shit.” Connor started running away from the grenade. The explosion blew him off his feet. He landed face first in the dirt. A shower of stones landed on top of him. He instinctively covered his head.

Ears ringing, he checked his body. Numb from the blast but almost intact. His hand was covered in blood when he checked his left calf. He tried to stand but found his legs failed him. He propped himself up on the rifle and used the wall of the ditch to support his weight.

He shook his head, trying to shake the dull hum from his ears. He looked back up at the stars, and instantly regretted it. They weren’t spinning before.

⛥

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 have them delivered anywhere in South Africa via Bakgat Books. https://bakgatbooks.co.za/all-stores/burning-books/

Also available in Edenvale from Inner Journeys bookstore.
www.facebook.com/InnerJourneysdnr

Or from Profound Books in Bramley.
www.facebook.com/Profoundbooks

And they’ll always be available on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

www.amazon.co.uk/John-West/e/B072833D7Q

⛥

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.