2022…And now what?

Have you ever asked yourself, “why?”

If you are like me, this time of year is depressing. I have put a lot of thought into this conundrum, and I think I know why.

Before I ruminate on this subject or dazzle you with my sheer genius, hit that follow button. Blogs are marketing tools, and I am a writer.

On to the reason for the blues.

Even with a normal Christmas, our lives have been upended for damned near two years. Truly, I get the idea this is all about big pharma getting rich at our expense. Yes, I know too many who have died from this horrible disease. I had it twice. Once when we were being told, it was nothing to worry about. There is nothing to see here; it is not transmissible from human to human, and so on. Yeah, I had it in early 2020.

I have the antibodies, and I am triply jabbed. Oh wait, this vaccine does not protect you from this new variant but get boosted anyway.

I heard them talking about the normal flu shot. It seems they missed it this year but, they still want you to get the flu shot, even though it will not work. “Why?”

When I was young, the only way to get something I really wanted was to wait for a birthday or Christmas. I suspect that is standard for many people. Our behavior becomes the standard for our reward. Do your chores, don’t hit your sister, take out the trash, and so on. We had Santa Jesus, and this generation has that elf on the shelf.

All of us were swallowing these lies completely.

Christmas and my birthday were ruined when I learned how to earn money. While I was never materialistic per, say I became affluent in little time, once I entered the work world. I had skills that were in demand.

When the phrase, I’ll be home for Christmas became germane is when I was spending my life in hotels, airports, and data centers. You haven’t lived until you have sat on the floor at a frozen airport for thirteen hours on Christmas Eve.

There is a price for affluence. The more it grows, the more complex and cumbersome your life becomes. I laugh every time I hear someone use the term white privilege. They have no fucking clue what they are talking about. It is a way to take a jab at a white person by calling them a racist using another term.

The holidays take on a whole new meaning as an adult. You go from “I want, to what can I get for…”

I get asked all the time what I want for Christmas or a birthday. I tell them, hug me like you mean it, and then spend some time with me.

I want to know what is going on in their lives. I truly want to keep that connection alive.

One of my friends gave me a coffee cup that had the first lines from some of the greatest books ever written.

That gift was special. She knows I am addicted to coffee, and, as a writer, I appreciate those types of things.

Speaking of cups, if any of my family or friends are reading this, I would really like a cup that holds at least 16 oz.

Yes, I could fill the cabinet with them but, each cup someone gets for me, I remember who gave it to me, and I think of them while I am sipping on my coffee.

I have some younger friends who have told me that they can hardly wait for Friday or the weekend.

I chuckle as I have been there. Usually, it was after a month of hotels in towns nobody ever visits, chasing a trail from someone who hacked into a mainframe and did a sloppy job of it.

Time is the great equalizer.

There are some horrible people in this world who have made their fortunes fucking everyone around them. Excuse the F-bombs but, they are prudent when talking about people like this.

They, like the rest of us, will die. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but there is no escape from it.

Imagine Jack Palance is sitting in front of you as I type this. He holds up one finger and tells you to just remember this one thing.

You ask him, “great, what is the one thing?”

He tells you that’s what you must figure out. Once you do and hold true to that one thing, nothing else means shit.

The lines and name Jack are from an older movie called City Slickers.

You say TW, what is that one thing?

Can you guess? I have alluded to it throughout this blog post. What is it I asked of people for a gift?

Time

Time is a precious commodity. It is, as Lincoln said, your stock in trade.

When your child or your parent spends time with you, it is precious. When you give of your time, it is also dear and should be appreciated.

I have spent time in ‘retirement homes’ with those who will soon breathe their last breath. Thanks to covid, I can no longer smell urine. There is a bright side to this scourge on humanity. These folks have many tales to tell, and I will make time for them. One of them loved a series of books I wrote. I went back to speak with him about the next one, and he was no more. He died that morning.

Will you be home for Christmas?

Will you be using zoom or some other technology to go over the river and through the woods?

Will you get what you always wanted, or have you matured enough to realize that things are not important? You can buy things. Can you buy love, happiness, hope for the future? Can you purchase the warmth of a hug that comes from the heart?

I am not telling you not to buy something for someone but, make sure what you buy comes from that intimate knowledge that you have of them, much like that coffee cup with the first lines on it. Did she get lucky or, did she give it thought?

What will you do?

Not to belabor the point, but these words to you are a gift from me to you. It takes time to write, edit and post such things, and I do this because I think you are worth it. I value each of you, especially those of you who write blogs and are not just trying to sell stuff.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and or Happy Holidays.

Much Love -TW

Schadenfreude already Selling after release today Thanks!

Hello and Happy Saturday!

If you follow me here, you know that I am a busy person.  I don’t let the grass grow under my feet.

After giving agents plenty of time to ‘ring me up,’ I released Schadenfreude, Captives of Pleasure Island on both Amazon and Smashwords last night.

To the many of you already reading about Lacy and her harrowing experiences with Ben, Thank you so much!  

Analytics show that Smashwords has already had hundreds of hits on this book alone.  Amazon only gives me sales but…You people are buying it!  That warms my heart; it truly does!

I love this story so much.  My emotional investment in my characters is incredible.  When they are sad I am.  When they are happy, I am too.  It is much like the tail wagging the dog!

Many have no idea what Schadenfreude is.  The textbook definition is deriving pleasure from someone else’s pain.

Again in the textbook scenario, it might be like, your sister in law that you despise lost her job.  You smile inside while putting on a face of faux concern. That is Schadenfreude.

Now, in my novel, I take its meaning a little darker.  You see, Ben makes Christian Gray look like a choirboy.

The most significant problem I had is making these two characters lovable while arcing them in such a way that you the reader would find them redemptive.

This novel is by far my most intricate and yet most satisfying as I genuinely love the characters and the story.

As always if you find typos get in touch with me at www.authortwscott.com.

If you genuinely want to do me a ‘solid…’  Leave me some feedback on the site, which you bought it.

With enough feedback, Amazon will promote it and guys, I work a day job, and I write.  I would love to just write for you.

I have several WIPs that I am going to go back and address in the near future.  If you bear the title of agent and you snoozed on this one, there are plenty of others in the pipeline.  Us the link and say Hello!

Hugs and much love -TW

The Good, the Bad, and the Democrats

I find it rather fascinating that our Democratic friends have mainly brought the American Government to a halt for 2 years, at a cost to the taxpayers of over $25 million and ignore the apparent collusion in front of their eyes.

Foreign nationals are and will influence the outcome of the election if we don’t have voter ID laws. There is not one argument that is valid to ignore this one simple truth. To argue against it is a blatant attempt to cheat.
If grandma does not have a picture id by now, she is probably too apathetic to vote anyway. It is, in fact, a stupid argument that only stupid people make.
The Democrats are throwing out red herrings of what they plan to run on.
Don’t be fooled.
They, in fact, are not going to run on their usual talking points as few are that naïve to believe them. Yes, there are some that will, but the bulk of thinking people know that the Democrats win by lying and cheating. They, in fact, use the courts instead of the political process to get their way.
“All is fair in love and war and politics.”

That is their motto, and I dare say that some on the Republican side of the aisle feel the exact same way. They are all cut from the same cloth, so it is not a stretch to believe that.

The old axiom, if their mouth is moving they are lying, is truer today than ever before.

The skirmish between the left and right will not be fought on a level playing field. With the Left wing news organizations pumping out over 95% of negative spin on the president, their goal is to build up animus, (hate) toward Trump.
Those who vote in the mid-terms will not be voting for the Democrats because of what they say they are running on but, they will be voting against Trump.

No matter who the GOP person is, the Democrats strategy is already hard at work with propaganda on Social media. There are more Meme’s making the rounds on Twitter, Facebook and so forth linking Trump and the Deplorable’ s to Nazi’s and other white supremacy hardliners that quite frankly represent a tiny part of the human population on earth, much less in this country.
If you want to manipulate someone into action, you do so through emotions. Democrats cannot win in a logical, civil debate. They can only succeed if they sow the seeds of bigotry, hate, and malfeasance and place the blame on Trump and those that vote for him.
Sadly many Americans have already taken up the mantle of anger. They want to be mad. They are ready to carry the Nazi Tiki torches and march on anyone who professes to be a Trump supporter.
Racism is the last card. It is a cheap and dirty trick, but the politicians have no level of debasement that they will not stoop to.

If their treachery started world war three, they would crawl back into their holes until the smoke cleared. Only then would the cowards crawl back out to see if the shirts or skins won the war.
They call it Hyperbole thinking that all Americans know it is just a game. That too is a lie. Americans watch the “journalists” on TV and take them at their word. Just plain scary how people believe what they hear on TV, or read on the internet in a meme.

• The Democrats will not run on taking your tax cuts back, although they will if they get in power.
• The Democrats will not run on Impeaching Trump, although they will if they get in power.
• The Democrats will not run on open borders, although they want to get rid of ICE. Ice is making it hard for Drugs to get in, as well as the new Democratic voting base..
• Why do you suppose Jerry Brown wants California as a sanctuary state? He needs the votes.

They might run on immigration using the poor little children that their parents sent off with child sex traffickers to the states but, they dare not run on issues which the GOP can easily defend.
They cannot run on the economy unless of course, they could do something at the last minute do cause it to crash.
I would tell you not to be fooled by the meme’s on Social media but too often when you see some horrific scene you act before you Snopes.

The memes are propaganda made up by the Democrats, or even China or Russia.
It is conceivable that Mexico or even Canada could be creating them as Trump is tough on all of them. They all need some pacifist in the white house. They desire someone who will look out for them rather than the interests of the American people. They need someone who would be afraid to question the motives of Putin or any of the other world leaders. In short, they don’t need or want Trump, they need someone who they can buy, or who is spinless!

If it seems outrageous, it most probably is propaganda created by the enemies of the right and indeed the detractors of Trump.
No, the Democrats will run on all emotional issues, and tell you that Trump is the villain. If you watch any of CNN, MSNBS or ABC or NBC or CBS they are all in the tank for the Democrats.
“Why?”
“Follow the money!”

To the many of you who purchased Presidential Assassins, I have some excellent News!
Amazon put out a tool to assist authors such as myself. I have imported Presidential Assassins into this tool and am in the process of “polishing “ the book.
The tool and subsequent editing have not only enabled me to make the novel read and flow better but, I have found and corrected a few typos. Watch the link and or tweets, and I will tell you when it is available.

If this works as I suspect, I might have to go back and re-edit and polish all of my 31 novels.

Again, stay tuned to this blog, tweets and so forth as I will be updating you as I go along.
Try not to get sucked into the lies on social media. Your friends and family who are easily triggered will probably not want to hear that they are being lied to. They may, in fact, tell you to rave on cat shit, someone will cover you up.

The truth of the matter is, if they cannot deal with your argument logically, then they have already purchased the lie and will vote for communism as it is the right thing to do, they were told.

Please note that I am an independent. I vote character over anything else.

As Always…Much Love! -TW

Productivity in the Workplace and Smartphones.

“If your leaning you should be cleaning!”

As a person with many years of business acumen, I could not help but notice the trend of smartphones in use in just about any workplace.

From the film about the infamous Roy Crock we heard the phrase, “if your leaning you should be cleaning.” This phrase came back to me today as I ate my lunch at some quaint little restaurant on the square in McKinney Texas.

This place is a new place that is also a bakery.  One woman in the back was always on the move decorating cakes and cookies.  I watched her for a bit as I ate and she never took a break for even a drink.  The manager or possibly her husband/owner went back to speak with her, and she never stopped working while they talked.  I think it was business related as the look on his face was one of concern and not one of lighthearted banter.

Now, let’s talk about the waiters and waitresses. The young lady behind the counter responsible for drinks also never stopped working.  The two on the floor were attentive enough but, were always on their phones.  Was there cleaning that they could have been doing?

If they are on their phones texting or who knows what, their eyes are not on the customers or possibly assisting someone else.

You can always tell the people who have something to lose vs. the hired help.  It is much easier today with the smartphone.

In office buildings, I see workers with phones in their hands or on their desk.  Often they are in their hands.

I cannot help but wonder if the addiction to these devices is more detrimental than we realize.

Just last week I was on a short road trip to a customer’s place where an 18 wheeler driver was all over the road.  Backing off there were several times that he came within inches of clipping guard rails.  The driver was out of his lane more than he was in it.

Someone honked at him as he jerked it back into his lane.  Within moments he was back to doing what I call the dance.  It would be interesting to know how many people have died playing with smartphones while driving.

I finally passed him, and he did not even look up as he was focused on his phone.

From Texting to Social media to looking for the elusive Pokémon creature, smartphones are not smart.

Mine is set to not bother me while I am driving.  If someone texts me, they are alerted to the fact that I am driving and I will not get their text until I stop.  I would encourage everyone who drives and has a phone to set it like that.

My calls funnel through the car system via blue tooth which is just fine.

There are many inexpensive devices to use your blue tooth enabled phone to go through your car stereo.  If your car is not equipped with it now, a method via a cheap device which plugs into your lighter adapter is available for just a few dollars.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that most of the customers were also on their phones and tablets even when they were sitting with others at the same table.

“Hello, I am here!”

Our social skills in this world are de-evolving I think.  Practice loving one another, and that starts by listening to them and not reading some mindless chatter on social media and hitting like.

On the book front, I am wrapping up book two of Nudists in Shangri-La.  I am excited about the story.  I have managed to take a titillating story and put some meat into it so not only will you be entertained but, there is an actual plot that makes all sorts of sense.

If the interests are there, I could write a third in the series.  I want you all after you read it, to tell me.

Visit me at WWW.AuthorTWScott.com  go to the contact page and say hello.

As far as these blogs, I appreciate the follows and comments.  If you like the blog, I think you can press it or republish it on your site.  I believe….

You followers of my blog and Twitter accounts get the first bit of news of what is going on.  When I run a sale on something, you folks are the only people that know about it. That is my way of thanking you for following me.

As an aside let me tell you about the place I ate.
The food was good. The presentation was good. The price was reasonable. For a shop on the square, it is what I expected. Had the staff not been always on their phone, I probably would not have noticed it. I see this everywhere I go but, when you are dealing with the public, perception is everything.

If I had a nit it would be this. I ordered a Dr. Pepper and I heard her open the can behind the counter. She poured half of it into a water glass full of ice.

As a rule, I don’t drink beverages out of cans. When I buy them at the store, I find them in bottles or I don’t drink them. I prefer glass bottles over plastic, but plastic over aluminum.

Having said that, my drink was empty and she did not offer to re-fill it. I paid a high price for a half can of soda. That is a nit… If I go back I will stick with water.

I hope the week is good for you!  I look forward to getting this next book released to you soon.

Much Love!  -TW