W.M.Morrell's Musings From Down Under.

In Memory Of My Father Who Died On Christmas Day.

2011-12-28T19:11:00.000+13:00

My father, Ernest, was a lover of fine wine, European cars, Scotch whiskey, beaches, blue cheese and books. Much like his daughter.

RIP Dad.

Support Fellow Writers By Buying A Book For Christmas.

2011-12-25T13:15:00.000+13:00

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing".
Benjamin Franklin

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed".

Ernest Hemingway

The following authors have no doubt, sweated much blood in their pursuit of publication. I should know, I've written a novel myself. So, in the spirit of Christmas, please support an author by purchasing their novels. Tis the season after all, and let's face it, there's no better gift than a book.

Roland Yeomans is the author of a number of novels and hosts an extraordinary blog accompanied with a generous helping of writing advice Writing In the Crosshairs.

The Legend Of Victor Standish [Kindle Edition] Roland Yeomans (Author), Wendy Tyler Ryan (Editor), Leonora Roy (Illustrator) 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Kindle Price:

$2.99 includes free international wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet

THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH by Roland Yeomans, (Kindle Edition - Sep 14, 2011)

Buy: $2.99 (7 customer reviews) |

No one talks openly of the misty figures seen walking along New Orleans' iron-laced terraces, casting no shadow. Of the shapes seen rising from sewer grates. And no one willingly visits the crypt of Marie Laveau at midnight. Into this strange world arrives the street orphan, Victor Standish, from Charon's Greyhound. Charon has to keep up with the times ... the End Times. And the teen destined to be called the "Ulysses of the French Quarter" has come just in time for Hurricane Katrina, the End of All Things ... and the deadly love of the Victorian ghoul, Alice Wentworth.

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Anne Gallagher - crazy hippie flower child, mother of a six year old daughter, writes Regency romance novels. You'll find Anne at Piedmont Writer

A Wife for Winsbarren by Anne Gallagher (Sep 28, 2011)

John Tremont, Viscount Winsbarren is desperate to find a wife. However, his fumbling ways in Society laud him as a laughingstock and the women he tries to seduce say they would rather marry his eighty year old father than him. In a last ditch attempt to secure a life's companion, he enlists the aid of a friend who comes up with the idea to place an advertisement in The Ladies Gazette. Over two hundred women answer the ad and John is gob-smacked. Could finding a wife really be this easy?

Unfortunately, as John reads the letters he realizes finding the woman of his dreams isn't as easy as he thought. Narrowing the playing field to five, John begins to despair after spying on the first two ladies. They are NOT what he was looking for.

Giving up on the whole scheme seems the best course, until he meets the final Lady. Could she really be the one he's been looking for?

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Stephen Tremp, author of the BREAKTHROUGH series, is a suspense thriller writer. You will find Stephen at Breakthrough Blogs

Stephen Tremp (Author)

(15 customer reviews) |

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The Information Age is moving at breakneck speed. Breakthroughs in areas of science that were once fodder for science fiction are now becoming part of our everyday life.

A group of graduate students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology has stolen a breakthrough in opening and stabilizing Einstein-Rosen Bridges, commonly known as wormholes, that allows them to instantly transport people from one location to another. Their goal is to assassinate any powerful politician and executive controlling the world’s banking system that would use this technology for their own greedy gain rather than the advancement of mankind.

In south Orange County, California, young Chase Manhattan, part of a new breed of modern-day discovery seekers, seeks to leave behind his life of danger and adventure and settle down as an associate professor of physics at University of California-Irvine. He also desires to build a lasting relationship with a beautiful woman he has not seen since high school.

His idyllic plan is postponed when he soon uncovers the diabolical scheme on the other side of the country. He realizes he is the one person who can prevent more murders from happening and either control or destroy the technology. Once the M.I.T. group understands Chase and his friends have the ability and motivation to not only take the technology from them, but also thwart more killings, Chase finds himself in their crosshairs, the top-of-the-list target on their assassination agenda.

As the death toll mounts, Chase and his friends must battle this group of misled zealots from M.I.T. on both coasts and in cyberspace in a thrilling, desperate race to determine the outcome of this monumental, once in a millennium discovery that will drastically change life as we know it—for better or worse.

Breakthrough, the first book in the Adventures of Chase Manhattan series, begins with a big bang and offers the audience exciting, unique, and diverse heroes and villains. The result is a fresh suspense thriller series integrating elements of greed, betrayal, passion, lust, unconditional love, coming of age, and hope. The action is swift. There are numerous red herrings, twists and turns, that will keep the reader turning the pages and wanting more.

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Joylene Nowell Butler, Canadian author of suspense thrillers, Dead Witness and Broken But Not Dead.

Joylene Nowell Butler (Author)

(1 customer review)

$5.95 includes free international wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet

Valerie McCormick is a wife and mother from small town Canada. While visiting Seattle, she becomes the only witness to the brutal seaside murder of two FBI agents. When she flees to the nearest police station to report the crime, she becomes caught up in a web of international intrigue and danger. Suddenly, she and her family are in the sights of ruthless criminals bent on preventing her from testifying against the murderer. Even with FBI protection, Valerie is not safe. Whisked away from her family and all that is familiar to her, Valerie fights back against the well-intentioned FBI to ultimately take control over her life with every ounce of fury a mother can possess.

Walter Knight, has written a 14-book humorous military science-fiction series, America's Galactic Foreign Legion, published by Penumbra Publishing. AGFL is now available online at www.Amazon.com, www.BarnesandNoble.com, and www.smashwords.com in paperback and E-book.
Start reading America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 13 on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Kindle Price:

$2.99 includes free international wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet.

America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 13: Salesman From Mars [Kindle Edition]

Walter Knight (Author)

5.0 out of 5 stars

The inmates are running the asylum as Donald Crisp the Third takes over as the main character in the ongoing space opera featuring thrills, chills, and spills in the United States Galactic Foreign Legion. With General Manny Lopez calling the shots, things can only go from inane to insane – and Czerinski just throws up his hands as Donald Crisp charges ineptly onto the scene.

A salesman from a long line of salesmen, Crisp is down on his luck and short on cash. Leave it to a USGF Foreign Legion recruitment ATM to make a deal he can’t refuse ... a little loan with big consequences.

Crisp and his buddies, former Microsoft engineer Tony Pierce and former spider miner Shaky Jake, find themselves enlisted in the USGF Foreign Legion. Czerinski’s never one to give up on a grudge, so the three take the chill off at planet New Colorado’s South Pole, and later make a big splash in croc-infested Caldera Lake.

Crisp’s ineptitude shines as he practices his salesman charms on the eternally irate spider commander. Oranges for scorpions, semi-sentient penguins, biting Blue Lizards, and ghosts from the past all make life difficult for Crisp as he does his best to survive while trying to escape the sharp edge of the Grim Reaper’s scythe. Despite all his near misses, the Grim Reaper doesn’t give up, and neither do the laughs in this thirteenth installment of the whacky military space opera.

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Kiwi Xmas

Well, that's it from me for 2011. I do hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. Thank you for following. Stay safe, be kind to one another and take good care of your pets. Don't forget, they need love and cuddles too ...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

xxx

Ever Wondered What's Behind Mt. Rushmore?

2011-12-12T16:01:00.000+13:00

Well, now you know. Here's a view from the Canadian side.

You Don't Stop Laughing Because You Get Old, You Get Old Because You Stop Laughing.

A little Bit of Sunshine ...

2011-11-07T13:08:00.000+13:00

Not only am I simply the worlds worst blogger, but it appears as the years gallop by at a rapid rate of knots, I have the worlds worst memory also. Hence, I am only now acknowledging three awards bestowed to me by my dear friend, Gary at Klahanie some time ago. Plus an additional award I received this morning from The Manic Chef. Many thanks to you both.


Thank you, Gary!

The Sunshine Award I relinquish into the soft hands of two bloggers who always inject a little sunshine into an otherwise cloudy day. Jemi Fraser at Just Jemi an aspiring writer of romantic mysteries and YA Steampunk.
Old Kitty at Ten Lives and Second Chances whose interests include, baking, writing stories, gardening, shopping and virtual nosy-ing. Her words, not mine.

Thanks, The Manic Chef and Gary!

The Friendly Blogger Award I present to a fellow kiwi, Niki at Wool'n'Nuts who lives on a little farm with lots of furry and feathery friends and funny woollie things called sheep. Niki also writes and has sold three short stories.
Roland D. Yeomans Writing In The Crosshairs. Dreamer. Author of, The Legend of Victor Standish, now on kindle at Amazon - among others. Believer in the worth of each soul he meets. It is not so bad a thing to have been born with the gift of laughter and the knowledge that the world is mad.
Michael at Fifty Book Quest A writer and new husband who likes eating sushi, watching the Bruins, drinking white wine of questionable vintage, and thinking. Occasionally thinking ...


Thank you, Gary - again!

And finally, I give The Gold Framed Dog Blog Award to someone new to blogging, S.K. Renait from Taking Flight. Ex Formula One driver, Fighter Pilot and Secret Agent (à la Walter Mitty), now cured and looking to procure the services of a publisher to facilitate the production and distribution of his first literary work. S.K has also posted a short story that also serves as the first chapter in an extensive piece that explores with a blunt instrument the finer points of morality in today’s fickle society. In his words - This stunning work is complete from beginning to end though adjustments continue to be made and will do so until the work is obtained by someone with a large suitcase full of cash.
Gotta love that spirit! Give S.K. Renait a follow.

Once again, thank you Gary and The Manic Chef :)

Roland D. Yeomans Is Having A Contest!

2011-10-09T14:16:00.000+13:00

PRIZES GALORE!

Let's help, Roland D. Yeomans, Writing In The Crosshairs, get to #1 in the Amazon Sales Ranking. Tweet, blog, or do whatever you can. This writer deserves to go right to the very top.

The Legend of Victor Standish

From Writing In The Crosshairs by Roland D. Yeomans

We all love prizes.

And THE FRIENDS OF VICTOR STANDISH contest has a Santa's bag full of them.

The drawings are tied to the AMAZON SALES RANKING for THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH :

1.) When Victor reaches 120,000 :

AUTOGRAPHED ALEXANDER SKARSGARD (Eric Northman of TRUE BLOOD) photo!

2.) At 100,000 :

AUTOGRAPHED MEGAN FOX photo!

3.) At 80,000 :

AUTOGRAPHED BRAD PITT photo (BONUS : CATE BLANCHETT’S too!)

4.) At 60,000 :

AUTOGRAPHED ANGELINA JOLIE photo!

5.) At 40,000 :

A 16 X 20 limited, numbered fine art print, MOONDANCE, AUTOGRAPHED by the stunning artist (in two ways), OLIVIA DE BERADINAS (#1650 of 4000!

6.) At 20,000 :

THE GOLDEN COMPASS movie poster AUTOGRAPHED by

DANIEL CRAIG

NICOLE KIDMAN

SAM ELLIOT!

7.) At 10,000 :

THE COLOR PURPLE movie poster AUTOGRAPHED by

STEPHEN SPIELBERG (director, producer),

QUINCY JONES (composer, producer)

KATHLEEN KENNEDY (producer) and FRANK MARSHALL (producer!)

8.)At 5,000 :

AVATAR movie poster AUTOGRAPHED by

JAMES CAMERON

SIGOURNEY WEAVER

SAM WORTHINGTON

ZOE SALDANA

STEPHEN LANG {Listen up, marines. Pandora will eat you up and shit you out like little ju-ju beans!}

9.) At 1,000 :

THE ROCK movie poster AUTOGRAPHED by :

SEAN CONNERY

NICK CAGE

ED HARRIS!

10.) At 700 : {For Fan Boys everywhere!}

Double-sided SERENITY movie poster AUTOGRAPHED by :

JOSH WHEDON (who is now directing THE AVENGERS!)

SUMMER GLAU

NATHAN FILLION

RON GLASS

ADAM BALDWIN

JEWEL STRAITE

ALAN TUDYK {of TUCKER & DALE versus EVIL fame}!

11.) At 500 :

FROM DUSK TO DAWN movie poster AUTOGRAPHED by :

QUENTIN TARANTINO

GEORGE CLOONEY

The beautiful SALMA HAYEK

HARVEY KEITEL

CHEECH MARIN

JULIETTE LEWIS and the most of the rest of the cast!

12.) At 250 :

STEPHEN KING AUTOGRAPHED copy of ROSE MADDER!

13.) At 100 :

AN AMAZON KINDLE FIRE!!

14.) The fun's not over yet!

Should Victor reach #50 in sales ranking :

A CHARLES SCHULZ AUTOGRAPHED WINTER DREAMS PROGRAM!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT ...

STILL MORE!!

Should you guys help me pull off a miracle and get Victor to #10 in the Amazon's TOP 100 sellers ...

J. K. ROWLING'S AUTOGRAPH on the double-sided movie poster of HARRY POTTER & THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (also SIGNED by ALL THE MAJOR STARS) will be given to some lucky entry!

AND WHAT IF VICTOR DOES THE IMPOSSIBLE AND GETS TO #1?

HERE IT COMES ...

WAIT FOR IT ...

AN AUTOGRAPHED BRITISH LORD OF THE RINGS : FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS MOVIE POSTER

SIGNED BY PETER JACKSON, VIGGO, SEAN BEAN (I knew you'd like that one, Francine), ORLANDO BLOOM and most of the other cast!!

HOW COOL ARE THESE?

You can find, Roland, on twitter @rxena77

Hippo Racing. Kings Cross, Saturday Nights. Come Naked.

2011-09-22T13:26:00.000+12:00

The following questions were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have a great sense of humour (not to mention a low tolerance threshold for cretins!)

Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia? I have never seen it rain on TV. How do the plants grow? (UK)
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see Kangaroos in the street? (USA)
A: Depends how much you've been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Are there any ATM's (cash machines) in Australia? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Hervey Bay? (UK)

A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia? (USA)
A: A-Fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not. Oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in King's Cross. Come naked.

Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia? (UK)
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boy's Choir schedule? (USA)
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-many, which is ... Oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boy's Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo race. Come naked.

Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia? (UK)
A: You are a British politician, right?

Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunters/gatherers. Milk is illegal.

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA)
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia? (USA)
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia? (France)
A: Only at Christmas.

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)
A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.

Don't know about you, but this made my day. Priceless!

9/11

2011-09-11T09:32:00.000+12:00

On September 11, 2001, four U.S. planes hijacked by terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania killing nearly 3,000 people in a matter of hours. Behind the staggering number of deaths are the individuals, each of whom left behind family, friends and co-workers.

Click here for List of Victims.

Gone but not forgotten. RIP.