Act Like a Best-selling Author Part 2 - The First Step to Finding Your Market

After reading the article "How to Publish on a Shoestring Budget" by Sid Smith*.
According to Sid Smith, if you are wonder about the best way to publish your book, then...

"Write an outstanding, must-read book that is unique, provocative, controversial, a literary masterpiece, or is endorsed by someone like Oprah. No, really. That's the best way to publish a book."

While this may very well be true, it is not necessarily the road traveled by many first-time authors or authors who really want to self-publish his or her work. However, as I continued to read his article some particular facts jumped from the screen. One particular piece of information I was lead to ponder as a writer was...

"Even if they do ask how to publish a book, they're still thinking in terms of publishing their best seller before they've even determined if there is a market for the book!"

As writers, we tend to believe that if we write a book, of course there is a market for it, and as a Success Coach, I must slightly disagree with the statement..."if there is a market for the book." The truth is we live in the information age. Even if we write a book about buying the best kind of scrap wood for birdhouses, there just may be a market for it. However, the questions that come to mind are many and this is where we tend to fall short.

1) How big is the Market?


2) How do I reach the market?


3) How big is the submarket?


4) What distribution channels will work best?

So, as I get ahead of myself, I realize some important factors that must be on the forefront of every writer's mind if he or she wants to act like a best-selling author. That is...do the market research before you publish the book, especially if you are writing a non-fiction book.

In fact, to explore this further, I would suggest to every writer who self-publishes to develop a book proposal as if he or she were going to send it to a big name publishing company like Harper-Collins. Don't short change yourself. Write an excellent book proposal and from that book proposal you will have answered the above question and many others.

Music Must Sound - A Collection of Poems

1

A poem is


like life

sound


and silence

movement


and stillness

fragment


and wholeness

avibhiktam


vibhakteshu

like Shiva


and Shakti

lotus


and mud

2

I thought I knew her before and my heart bowed to her native virtues


each touch she offered stirred and drew me near


before entering her depths I felt how dark was the dance


I never liked to part with her but the tears in her eyes were saying: 'no, no'

3

Your face lights up my dark chamber


the moon reclines on my bosom


this evening steals your fragrance

4

I want to rest in your lap


and drink your golden breasts


hide me in the curtain of your hair


shield me in the grove of your flesh

5

Won't you share


my aloneness


tonight?

I need


female smell


in bed

let's kiss


each other in our


strangeness

6

When Renoir or Cezanne or Matisse or Picasso


can play with body and capture the soul


why not poets draw on beauty in darkness


and speak in the language of Body, or write all

that animals do and men conceal in light


the aching peace must gets sway


good or bad what's empty must be filled


if life vibrates music must sound

7

Call it spoof


or nirvana


if you like

hidden between thighs


is the spring music


beyond birth

8

A myth


like prejudice


is turned lovely


with rituals


when we search


faith


against ourselves


in ourselves

9

A flying horse perched


on the island of her flesh


without conquering the ocean:

whirlwinds galloped


his funeral parade


between the cracks

10

Singing the rituals of flesh


midst the sound of frogs


and owls by the window


I bury my sultry night


in the mosquito-net

11

Stooping over his gravid love


while he neared the coital bliss


the little child woke up


with erect penis cried


to spoil sex she slipped aside


and put out her breast to feed him


in semi-darkness virility foiled


the slough face down

12

In the blue space of mind


Winny plays her games


as in waking hours


weaving shapes in holy precincts


I recover my lost child


and the old priest calls me back


with a pearl to save my soul:


dulcet sounds ring again to celebrate


my move above the nights

13

The dress hides


undress


and you look beautiful

14

A stray sperm


grows in the ovum


blooms as a puffball

15

How hard we try to empty


the vessel that holds our seed


in her deep pleasure turns painful


causes depression after two children


we want non-creative sex:


now clean cobwebs that hold red flow


to release our post-lunch tension

16

Leaves fall


in a dust-ridden city

stars grin and body burns


vultures hover all round


passions breed in pigsty


she has shaved chromosomes

under a bloody roof


my tattered trousers remind


the bedsheets love stained


before light shone

in a sulphurous pond


I display


my naked person


to ghosts and witches

17

When I read the eyes of darkness


and loneliness in my room


I slip into my bed and unbutton


with a craving of the malpakara


knowing well when


it's not a girl or wife


sexploitation is no sin

18

Every stain on the bed speaks


of offence done to


self, lover, sweetheart


I am reminded of acts


day and night


and pretend


hot tea from my cup


has scattered

19

Once your body was the sitar waiting for my touch


the sweet fragrance of your hair still lingers


but the cigarette that was mine is now ash

20

Islands grow like mounts


in the midst of the sea


my palm I full of circles and triangles


my fate I know too well


the crone ready to cast


a new Judgment of Paris

on the mount of Venus


is an apple


I wonder if my wife


too has sensed it

21

Giggling behind the hill


is the woman I knew


if you touch my finger


you shall know


what winter is

22

Naked


without ring


my finger


a widow

23

Darkness is a whore


I sleep with


cross-legged

without copulation


last night parted


with sinking acid

24

Road to VD through


Assembly of God over the bridge


flying cars of the State


on walls slogans of commercial gods


and the name of Gandhi shadowed


by the crossed trees near Hydel


DANGER board shifts


my gaze to veiled beauties


moving like thoughts


with the best of motives


manoeuvre to kill a poet


learning the secret of


the first menstrual flow

25

Dancing on the top of the tower


his religious fans plan to erect


Shiva's phallus as token of love


turn kaned all men and women

before union the tower collapses


with their guru they fall into the forest


and rise again as apes the third day

26

The bearded swamy's


vedantic discourse


goes over head


in empty solitude


he speaks


as a dying man


to dying men

27

Mute pavements


shelter meditators


in milky silence

passing beauties


denuded in water


skin shrinks

at the Ganges in Kartik


old gods leer at


their wet bare backs

in bleeding cold


'aum' is convenient


to soothe vasanas


no more Ashwapathys please


they're hung up, racing in jet


to catch two white moons

28

What's this sadhana


that he throws the bowl


at a man in the circle


and he dies instantly?

But I look for the jackal


escaping his aim

29

Simulating mysticism


they fill the hollows


through jugglery


conceal their


fractured faith

30

The night died


for nobody trimmed


the wick of lamp

31

A monkey turned the coat


to let off snakes


hidden in velvet lining

32

One by one


when the lamps are put out


every floor is dark


in this house

33

Calculating fate


through zodiac maze


last night I discovered


a dotty god rising


out of a dead oyster

34

The night drips


from their faces


like the rains

assails my vision

I fail to distinguish


man from beast

35

When there's no market for most speech


who'll read my loose ramblings:


it's silly to wander far off


to designs to dismiss reality


or configurations called poetry

36

In mind


his eyes fire


his images


nightmare


the poor soul


in scorpion cage


cannot brave


the dark combats

37

I dig my mind to


unmemory the past


and become voice and time


to redeem the icy sun

to wake up the hibernating wind


long blid to dust


swirling in shapes


under emergency light

coloured virtues on sale


reflecting the night of bodies


craving burial in the thicket


of cosmetic hair

in dull music about me


flesh-eaters starving for the soul


as I kill an arrogant


snake at my door

38

The golden orb


through pricking trails


from east to west


concentrates dark


in life love separates


to upset balance


waking and sleeping


I look up and purge


static madness

39

After these hot noons


the earth


mates with rainbow


I breathe my son's smile


and forget the darkness growing

40

This evening's smile


seems conspiring with floating shadows


swains rehearse in dark corners


with cigarettes


I simply gobble the scene

41

The webs that hide still time


I must clean and banish


Saul from my home:


His bait is subtle

I must work out my salvation


and find again the bread of life


through the maze of rootlessness


fragmented memories and finger prints

the faceless figures in the dark


mock with amputated legs


in the museum eternity is locked:


I must rise again before extinction

42

Smoke rises from the church


Christ burns gradually


the ultimate dust rests


in His hands


for recreation


of a new lamb

43

The race of life


with an awful shadow


anterior or posterior—to darkness:

I am only moving


in the crowd of roads


in search of a road

44

Across the brown woods


I climb the naked hills


where tempests can't reach


nor waves rise to collapse

my being watches the evening star


hanging through heaven I lose


and find again the snowy light


transposing crimson arc in east

nobody sees the lotus smile


the calm behind the chaos


fleeting breaths commemorate


hopes of eden on earth

a mystic repose or agony


I don't know blooms, flows


or overwhelms world's soul


in me time weds eternity

45

I don't know the little beauty


my son curiously chases

in the wild flowers


butterfly is angelic


fleeting each time


he reaches to catch

46

Stars on the earth these glow-worms


I want to clasp in hand and offer


God as flowers of


obeisance

47

The sun sheds its radiance


over the hills as if


they water the slope with blood


to keep the eternal green


the deciduous days near end


I see the sheol rising


upon the ocean of spring


many unmoor to sail


many draw in the womb of air

48

There is a road in the forest


I haven't trampled yet


a light glows always

for a fresh touch in planet's belly


I look out from my suspended window


and they say there is nothing

the hungry skin for an avalanche


and parabolic movement in space


don't translate my existence

on paints their homage coeval


with icy expectations I stand


and feel the warmth Death brings

49

The blue hillocks look at the vegetation below


green forests, orchids, firs and pines smile


over the rocky slopes horses graze and


down below a river teems with fishes


in the Land of Dragon Paro is a bride


beautiful, angelic, loving


everyone cherishes her matutinal grace


I love her, and love the mastoid mountains


of Druk Yul, a greater heaven on earth

50

The road never runs


straight in mountains


life means hazards

my line of fate runs


straight and smooth yet


roses bloom with thorns

51

There is no tree


over the mountain


I rest in shade


of a wandering cloud

52

It is not the surf


by the sea I watch


the crashing waves


on the shore I hear


the music of the wind


that stirs my soul:


you shut your eyes


and feel at home

53

The rock stands midst the sea


bulls of Bashan beset me


with snares of death


floods rise and go:

dark waters turn bright


waves touch my feet


the shepherd washes me clean


midst the sea rock stands

54

Scooped in the belly


of a huge airbus


it's only sunset

55

Locked in giant Chandragupta


I fly over snow stacked stones


and defy clouds in unseen sun

56

He walks through the high walled narrow lanes


where children play with dead or dying dogs


that eat their own stinking flesh


he sees them sitting over the running wheels


murdered innocence peep out from windows


but no one bothers the tragic turn

57

Connaught Place, Janpath and Parliament Street look


like a platform of some busy railway station here


night is the same as day people run after


the buses or wait with their burdens


pushing or kicking insidiously doing all


mischiefs in and out I see


attempts to hide something insignificant


and so important goes uncared


my messianic dream welters on the bleeding breasts of Delhi


Playboys and Penthouses cry "Mai? Mai?"


with hold-me-tight arguments of the saucy sweet


I hear the mosaic deafs and dumbs telling


whither goes my Sinai?

58

Rouged faces of working girls


in DTC buses give


frustration


black joys of life


taking turns


against red lights


on the road

59

They board and alight


like the birds flying


from trees in the morning


wander without signature


in the evening


get lost in dark

60

After a tortuous journey left alone


a homeless wanderer comes


to the land of mines following


the dream-chandan and –geru in can


rusted stones and square smile


pelicans pictured at Nalsarovar


against a blissful clime he sues


black dusts and pollution without


going down the earth on way


spots places and people secretly


appeared many a time crawling


on a minotaurs belly intumesced


he thinks the machine is overworked


in yawning hours he eats


goats' testicles and omelette to green


his nocturnal craze invaginates


the blues of a road, it's vugs and turns


deo volente he treks for better

61

I play that I'm happy


like a child secretly complain

waking before the sun


I feel my taste and warm myself


against a rain of smoke

it smells only foul


like the toilet near my room

62

Crushed heads of serpents coil along the road


green glitter of stream strikes my vision


I walk and fear the growing ripples in urinal

63

I don't see crows


turn into cuckoos


or herons into swans


in this jungle


viruses haunt


air and water

no Agastya rises


from the pitcher


no holy man changes


the corrupt roots

ignorance feeds faith


all around


rahus eclipse moon


and gurus


like comets grow


to sink life


in wild ocean

64

Going down the dark corridor


I breathe smog in the morning


walking is a quick dose to death:

traffic roars though invisible now


black layers rest on leaves


where is fresh air?

I cough my allergies and swallow pills


To live in a safer tomb

65

The Thames tolerates


bridging so much


I fear one day


she'll disappear


leaving behind


a nullah known


only to MPs


or intruders


in Queen's bedroom

66

The Ganges condescended


to flow down from Shiva's matted hair


with white laughter


from the Himalayas to Kashi


it shone so pure and bright


but failed to quench


the earthly thirst


or cleanse the human heart


their sinful mind


the goddess couldn't change


I clearly see in its apparent grace


missing all turbulence


so necessary to wash out


the ilss of ages it seems


it's lifeless now


impotent to set right


the rotten state of man

67

Young girls and women move up and down


in the boat standing on the river bank


they carry sand for their bread


and fling down the basket, sun smoulders

men sit on the terrace and smoke hashish at noon


crack private jokes, watch sullen grace


the drowsy river flows with the city's garbage

68

Is there enough water to quench


my body burns within


the little liquid's restless


and the black doctor awaits


a handful ashes


to propitiate Shiva


the red eyes deride


my passionate labour


and the scourge sears each bone


it seems I'm dumb rock


no Christ will call a church


yet the flames rise


high in sky burn


burn


what can I do


if there is no water?

69

I fear the desert in sky


and hate clouds on hills


I doubt rain is potent


earth is wined by whores

70

When things were good and happy


I knew the lofe of all


now nobody knows me here

71

Love or friendship in this land


is a hoax


each morning and evening


my tent is set afire


and they say


night is illumined

72

It turns my lips blue


and fingers freeze in icy wave


I breathe frost and shiver

in the coldest ever Delhi


get up before every one and move out


for bread

73

They say


I'm a good person


plain and simple

a poet suffering


at the hands


of evil persons

like Christ


crucified with


thieves beside

and didn't he cry


"Eloi! Eloi!


lama sabachthani?"

I cry at the 19th hour


of a sour day


"O God, O God"

74

Doctor Chakroverty


damned Mrs Gandhi


damned Nixon


damned politics


called them rogues


when I said


they're fools


he said


no

75

An ideal minister


is a miracle of cunning


like the jackal in fables


who ate the heart


and ears of the ass


only to say


like the fox that ate


the deer's heart


and declared later


it hadn't any

76

Mr Dange lauds


action against smugglers


and accepts a purse of


4.5 lakhs from working people


on his birthday


I wonder how masses


subsisting on 36 paise


could collect such a dough

77

The best


of seven nations hanging


in her closet because


she's the wife


of a senior bureaucrat

78

Splendid


these rats


enjoy favours


give nothing


receive all

79

The telephone receiver


like a hooded snake


pretty, but full of poison

80

The dance about light


humming mosquitoes


in the evening


griefs can't be trimmed


if stings are deep:


night lurks on concerns


of the day between


surpluses and scarcities


I scratch tissues


of impairing events


or bite the curly language


to redeem hollow inside


dread of dying sun


and insects outside conspire


against wind that burrs the leaves


of years (or spiders' net


in annually-cleaned corners?)


shacked up, in a shambles now


stamped with mosquitoes blood


my palms conceal failures


I can never erase


I can't recover light


buried in a grave


it's difficult


to keep form and flow

81

Sceptical yet innocent I look below the flyover


deserted landscape overrun by chained dogs and bitches while


parasites walk leisurely on the solitary road


I long to talk to someone

the sky is blind and mute


too are the directions hollow winds


blow over my head with frozen


fingers I negotiate budding leaves

images blister under yellow skins


I see cold shadows at dusk


read new myths and metaphors


in vain defy months old exile

82

Civilization


in a poor nation


is death by


methyl isocynate

hanging heavily


by multinational grace


in the cold night

each house turns a mortuary


mixing the dead and the dying


and the living turning blind

only fossils snivel

dreams dustmingle


broken visions lock


wide sky in ice-blue eyes

what have we left?

nothing remains


and none live to watch


the grand finale


of human achievement

83

The sun is indifferent there


the moon doesn't weep


in Beirut butchered children


and bulldozed bodies testify


to man's savage growth


from Moses to Mohammad


ideals and dreams breed slaughter


for existence barbarians


need cosmetic excuses?

84

We decry


discrimination


of the sort


we practice


at home:

in Calcutta


if lifts don't carry


"Servants, dogs, and luggage"


why grudge


the South African notices


"dogs and natives


are not allowed"?

85

It's outrageous


with headless heads


and paper tigers


roaring from the top

and cows resting in the porch


or listening to lectures


and dogs and goats roaming in the verandah


it's a cattle's paradise

humanities courtyard


is a litter of puppies and paper plates


after the seminar


they pretend to get mired in textbooks

who can stop the wheel


if it performs well


and the punctures stay unseen

86

Who will sing for you


in the street


when all your life


you ballooned words


in coffee houses


or the offices


to create epic


with scratchy jargon?

Now watch


your black mushrooms


grow wild


in the drawing room

do you fear


your shark teeth


in action?

87

I am a man


if you want to see


your image


you'll see


your distortion only

88

What's this


music of life


vibrating but


soundless?

Last Things, First Things - Book Review

Last Things, First Things


By Wells Earl Draughon


ISBN-10: 0595269427


Review by Heather Froeschl

What would you do if you had only a short time left to live? What if you did everything you thought you'd wanted to do but your life was just empty and lonely? Could you call your life complete if you had not accomplished what you thought was your life's work? Wells Earl Draughon has addressed some very deep topics in "Last Things, First Things." His characters confront issues that we all hope we won't ever have to. This makes for a heart touching, thought provoking read.

Val believes that he is dying of cancer. He saw the foreboding word on his medical charts. His mistrust of doctors convinces him that he has little time left and he takes matters into his own hands. He quits his job, sells everything he owns and is ready to embrace the world during his last weeks. But all he feels is empty and hopeless. Except for the memory of meeting someone at the hospital...someone who he feels drawn to in ways he never has felt before.

Erin is working on the plans of her dream house. As an architect she is successful yet her ambition drives her to fulfill her goal of designing the perfect house. She also wants a baby and a husband and is in the process of adopting a baby girl. But her fatigue is dragging her down and scaring her to no end in her worry over what it could be that is causing it. Her doctor tells her she is fine, and she believes him. She trusts him.

Taking a trip to the Greek islands seems to be the answer for much needed rest and inspiration. When Val and Erin find each other there, the draw between them is evident. Should he tell her that he is dying? Should she tell him she is adopting a child? She makes him feel alive and complete. He makes her forget her exhaustion. Is the love they have discovered enough to get them through their troubles? Or is it the very thing they live for?

Wells Earl Draughon has written a piece that will leave you wondering what you would do if you were faced with the end of your life. What things would come first for you? What would be the last things you ever do? He will also remind you to live as if you were dying - living to the fullest. With a plot that is fast paced and emotionally charged, "Last Things, First Things" will have you turning pages and looking for more from this author when you reach the end.

The River Returns - A Collection of Tanka poems

1

She hears the voice


of unrealized bliss in


the coos of koel


at the window sill this evening


rains love and delight

2

His message to meet


at moon rise among the flowers


sparkles a secret


on her smiling face passion


glows with charming fervor

3

She is no moon yet


she drifts like the moon, takes care


of him from the sky—


meets him for short, waxing


leaves him for a long, waning

4

Before going to bed


she looks too sad to have


any sweet dream:


the lonely lamp glints no love


and no star peeks through the curtains

5

Yearning to meet him


she turns a silk-worm spinning


love-silk in cold night—


stands in a shade melting tears


like a candle, drop by drop

6

Stains of dried dewy


tears on the eyelids tell of


the load on her mind:


clothed in spring the willow twigs


reveal the changed relation

7

Locked in the shadows


of unrolled curtains her love


in the lone boudoir:


she plays tunes on the guitar


flowers fade at the windows

8

She senses all things


changing as she passes through


the city again:


should I leave the old house or


lie in the grave before death

9

Twisting tassels


round her finger fears coming


of night in bed:


octopus grips the body


and buckles into disgrace

10

At the river


she folds her arms and legs


resting her head


upon the knees and sits


as an island

11

Is it her quietus


that she roars in herself


like a sea


waves upon waves


leaps upon herself?

12

Gods couldn't change the rhythm


of the body and its needs:


erotic scars stick—


after three decades love waves


tense the flesh and rock the night

13

When the sun is erotic


and the moon lyric


the winds turn tempestuous


in the orbit of love


legs slide by calls of nature

14

Before the foamy


water could sting her vulva


a jelly fish passed


through the crotch making her shy—


the sea whispered a new song

15

Swirling spiral


of her skirt spills tides of dream


and memory:


I breathe fire in the dance


forgetting bends and twists

16

When I wanted to change


seats my friend said she can


only if the door's locked


the light out and her mom


in another city

17

When I inhale in


your mouth and exhale stroking


hair or caressing


I ride you into joy and


make you hail morning like earth

18

Life limits between


whence the sun rises and where


it goes to relax:


joys of a fleeting moment


I see Aditi in your eyes

19

When I have no home


I seek refuge in the cage


of your heart and close


my eyes to see with your nipples


the tree that cared to save from sun

20

The smile you weave splits


the sun I lose my direction


in clouds that cover


the banks darkening the white


of the lake moon kissed

21

Winter is caught in


waves of narrow discussions


under the blanket


fingers move by nipples erect


without sensing consummation

22

Drinking evening star


blue green patterns before eyes


no meditation


no god visits to forgive


the sinning soul in solitude

23

Exhausted she sleeps


unaware of my presence


this warm night carefree


I croon my spring song alone


and fill the void with new dreams

24

As I repose in


the wrinkles of her face


I feel her crimson


glow in my eyes her holy


scent inside a sea of peace

25

The room has her


presence every minute


I feel she speaks


in my deep


silently

26

Love is the efflux


from her body spreading


parabolic hue—


enlightens the self I merge


in her glowing presence

27

Looking at her face


for the glint of her nosepin


or rise of renku


they couldn't finish but form


in their eyes together

28

Your vacant eyes


reveal this city:


dim, humid, absent-minded


orchestrates bronchial noises


'quake in the face

29

Living in dust smoke


and white darkness I know


I just flicker—


stand alone like a lighthouse


lost in the fog of seashore

30

What should I do


about the mornings


that couldn't be:


now fog controls


appearance of the sun

31

Breathing pipe choked


with coloured dust celebrate


spring in coalfield:


the moon mocks my nightly plight


I look for the inhaler

32

The chilly wind blows


to freeze my feet and fingers


tonight I can't rise


and silence the whisperings


storming the vacant room

33

Ghosts rise to mate


in moonlight tear the tombs


frighten with fingers


rhino horns rock the centre


granite sensation

34

I lost my sleep


over a thought I could not


make my own:


the sun's antidote changed


the voice of the wind

35

Sleeps the night with


desires wrapped in blanket—


spring in the eyes


gods couldn't change the rhythm


of the body and its needs

36

Drugs don't diagnose so


let's kiss our sneezes


into each other and stop


worrying about repression


necessary or surplus

37

Watching the waves


with him she makes an angle


in contemplation:


green weed and white foam break


on the beach with falling mood

38

Crazy these people


don't know how to go


down with the swirl and


up with the whirl but


play in the raging water

39

They couldn't hide the moon


in water or boat but now


fish moonlight from sky:


I watch their wisdom and smile


why I lent my rod and bait

40

A cloud-eagle


curves to the haze


in the west


skimming the sail


on soundless sea

41

I thought I'd exchange


my anxieties for a bit


of peace but thinking


was easier than happening:


I couldn't even sleep

42

Standing at the edge


I long to float with waves and


wave with instant wind:


on the dream water's breast


I read tomorrow's wonder

43

My hand held out


in the dark remained empty:


no one reached it


to give joy of


the meeting hands

44

The heat inside will


reduce with the flow of blood


and cactus may bloom


in desert of flesh again


the heart may feel the green wave

45

The truth of our

togetherness is more real


when we lie filling


our body with each other


silencing sensation

46

I fear the demons


rising from my body


at midnight crowding


the mind and leading the soul


to deeper darkness

47

Sleeps the night with


desires wrapped in blanket—


spring in the eyes


gods couldn't change the rhythm


of the body and its needs

48

Awake in dream time


he looks for the candle—


love's invitation


lighting up in the dark


and sings the body's song

49

The nightqueen fragrance


seeps in through the window


coupled with full moon


adds to my delight though I'm


alone in my bed tonight

50

The sleep is buried


in sex for diversion


yoga or prayers:


the dawn preserves bitter eyes


in the day's bleak passage

51

An insomniac


weak with desires and prayers


hears the heartbeats


rising fast with dark hours


survives one more nightmare

52

Seven times he moves


round the vermillion god


under the peepal


sprinkling water to escape


the malefic Saturn

53

He watches the mound


of dead leaves in the backyard


to grow dreams after


the end of summer and drought:


rains nurture seeds birds buried

54

Muttering Tablet


of Ahmad in TV noise


he lies on the sofa


by window seeking


post-lunch nap for change

55

Bored with politics


and news of falling sensex


he folds the paper


and flips through the old PLAYBOYs


to see the nudes seen in youth

56

She receives my call


complaining why I didn't go


to see my father


while he says it's alright


only gums bleed and joints ache

57

Gentle like a dove


love was graceful a night away


on the white wave it's


a sea searching ways leaps to


eternity tonight

58

The bamboo garden


we picknicked and made love in


is now all concrete—


managing environment


and pollution control

59

The power goes off


suddenly summer heat chokes


in bed sleepless she turns


undoing a hook or two


of her tight bra

60

Greeting the first rains


after months of soaring heat


the lone rose flutters


little petals to the ground


echoing our first embrace

61

Shining on rose leaves


silken layer of dew drops:


gloss of her mauve smile


she blushes when I tell her


beauty of the blooming rose

62

Roses await


sun and wind to clear


the baleful fog:


I fear she'll say no


to my love again

63

I'm no romantic


turning sufferings to bliss


and delude in


heavenly meeting with god


or life's grandeur and greatness

64

I'm human and feel


their meanness every moment


get angry and lose


my sleep as the earth writhes in


the pain butchers knives inflict

65

There's little save


poetry and prayer


to put up with


rising darkness in and out


and god too is silent

66

Couldn't be happy with


my present nor could realize


any dreams all these years—


there's nothing to look back


to say I lived my life well

67

The chart predicts


I must keep the company


of the righteous


but how to find one among


the wicked that write our fate

68

Psalms or no psalms;


workers of iniquity


shoot their arrows


with praising lips and god


flees to see their shrewd schemes

69

Recedes into self:


crooked trees and leaking roofs—


the city conspires


swarmed with listless spirits


young and living, slowly dying

70

Hiding or waiting


it raises its head when least


expected, a snake


glitters in the eyes, looks for


the moment to reveal fangs

71

Crudity


of the stone conceals


grace of nudity


the image of Kali


reveals to her devotee

72

The sun


on a mountain


grave illumines the path


to divinity unrealized


in soul

73

With steel flow


the rolling water


pierces the rocks


shapes them into stars


turned into river's song

74

She visits


a beauty parlour


to erase wrinkles


and returns with the same


wintry darkness

75

The lips in her eyes


and long hours in the mouth—


no moist secret


between us to reveal:


now our backs to each other

76

All her predictions


could come true had I paid her


the fees for her writing


psychic reflections on dreams


I failed to realize in life

77

Wrinkles on the skin


remind me of time's passage


year by year traveled


long distances renewing


spirit and waving good bye

78

Stray fungi grow


on the broken window frames


beside my bed


watery smell swells as if


a corpse in the river

79

Feeling the difference


between a tin house and

a weather proof tent:


on the Yamuna's bank


Kumbh deluge to wash sins

80

With black and white marks


and nest of ants on its skin


the tree grows taller


shining through the geometry


of sun, moon and halogen

81

My voice


brown like autumn


crushed in noises I can't


understand days pass in colours


buried

82

Layers of dust thicken


on the mirror water makes


the smut prominent:


I wipe and wipe and yet


the stains stay like sin

83

In the forest of your hair


my finger searches


the little pearl of blood


that stirs the hidden waters


and contains my restlessness

84

The sun couldn't help


nor fish protest:


river has no sex


so it dried up


trapped in its own banks

85

I'm no river


flowing toward the sea:


I must find my way


asking strangers in strange places


sensing soul, using insight

86

The otter watches


a duck walking on


the frozen river


icicles drop bit by bit


from a lone tree

87

I couldn't understand


what's Hindu about having


fish and onion


after prayers by the river


in the temple courtyard

88

Fears to see


his own image in


her eyes so


avoids seeing her again


betrays his cowardice

89

They watch her bare back


to feel the body through crotch


thank engraving pen


she loves the etching on skin


to enhance nudity

90

Dancing on


the car top a girl


holds the mike


to express her love


twists the audience

91

Slung-jawed awake


two grinning skeletons sit


bolt upright in bed


hear the shrieks next door but


too scared to call the police

92

The nightly ghosts crowd


my mind's passage to forge


gods' names in disguise


I fail to scan the face


of thought and life in the dark

93

The chill outside


deprives me of the bright moon


I breathe in my fears:


asthmatic bouts haunt and


jealousy itches the throat

94

Night's prisoned friends


keep me awake with planes


flying over the ashram


every now and then I watch


the directions matter

95

One thousand miles


traveling together


in tense silence


he and she contemplate


the next round of duel

96

I can't cement cracks


nor save the frames from collapse:


the wreck reveals the myth


I need not knit new dreams


if truth's so cold and stingy

97

The yellowing patch


on the lawn won't green with


pesticides—


the water infects the roots


even if I am drying up here

98

Each night speaks to me


in flatulence, wheezing


and pain in the legs:


god intervenes at times


in momentary union

99

With years of rubbish


he reeks of aborted dreams


lives a stagnant pool


cut off from the running source


rots in the marsh like a frog

100

They own little earth


and seek to auction the sky:


excel by default


god too becomes a party


to their flight with wax wings

101

Lying all day


with pain in the heels


and sinking heart


I read tanka and wait


for miracle to sleep

102

Burning without warmth


one more hot and sweaty spell


of summer, restless


down with stroke, without light, fan


exhausted, alone in bed

103

Ageing he thinks of


the ashes and the long trip


ahead in spirit


feels the earth he would


become celebrating life

104

New leaves welcome


his shadow near the window


the telephone rings


perhaps to greet Naw Ruz:


I didn't pray or keep the fast

105

Like tramps and dogs


they piss and shit I see


I'm sucked in my own cracks:


now curl and cry


but none bother

106

With moral twists


name of god or religion


they fly planes to bomb


sheep of his pasture and


expect grace for humankind

107

Preaching peace


explode 'plane bomb, car bomb


human bomb


and bluff the living corpses


with politics of terror

108

They claim to kill satan


mass murder innocents


and blow themselves up:


I wonder how god condones


vague prophets and their cult

109

From the border rings


he's stationed dangerously:


any moment war


may break out for their follies


he must kill and live…to kill

110

In my impatience


I werdle or opup more:


they take their own time


here waiting is more aweful


than meeting or going

111

Vibration of thought


with their venom in groups


my spirit disturbed


I lose desire to live here


conceal my angst in tanka

112

Concealing mourning


in twilight gaze he explores


the shaping nightmares:


colours of the rainbow guard


the beasts at the day's entrance

113

Their loose tattle


or loitering on the street


changes nothing


not even the hand they wave


to penetrate the body

114

Surging like a wave


they image in the air and


end up wriggling worms


hiding through the thick hedges


digging the dark undergrowth

115

Naked children crowd


as I pass through the alleys


between smelly slums:


dogs bark to alert them to


the presence of a stranger

116

Swallowing capsules


he trusts in absent healing


seeks intercessions


to cure allergic asthma


and the cyst not contracting

117

Is it the water


or sweat flowing from the cleft


they queue up to drink?


not far away the masons cut


rocks to build a new highway

118

The sun of knowledge


shining through the beer bottle


under the neem tree:


carousing, singing in praise


of gods and ghosts that never drank

119

He takes out the letter


and writes a poem on its back


recalling the last words


winds whispered through the stars


that still shine in the sky

120

Waving arms of trees


conspire with overcast day


to drench again


the two of us look for shade


under leaking umbrella

121

Over the dried moss


rains have grown new layers


making the path more


slippery for all of us


falling is a postscript now

122

Laden with new shoots


the trees promise mangoes


to celebrate summer:


the dust-storm and rain shatter


all hopes hanging by snapped wire

123

Waiting for the remains


of sacrifice vultures


on the temple tree


stink with humans and goddess


on the river's bank

Copyright:


R.K.Singh


Professor & Head


Dept of Humanities & Soial Sciences


Indian School of Mines


Dhanbad 826004 India

Published by Prakash Book Depot, Bara Bazar, Bareilly 243003 India. ISBN 81-7977-188-1

"Thirty Years of The Rockford Files" by Ed Robertson - Book Review

Thirty Years of the Rockford Files: An Inside Look at America's Greatest Detective Series
by Ed Robertson


iUniversity Press (2005)


ISBN 0595342442


Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (2/07)

This edition of "Thirty Years of the Rockford Files" is an update from the original book that came out over ten years ago. I did not read the first release, but I can tell you from this edition that nothing is left out from the series. I was amazed at the thoroughness with which Ed Robertson covered this series and everything surrounding the series. It is a great guide for fans of the Rockford Files and would be a great addition to anyone buying the series on DVD.

The book is broken down by seasons and episodes with additional background information on the series, interviews with the actors, and tidbits of information that is not anywhere on the series. Many of you will remember that each episode begins with a message on Jim Rockford's answering machine like this one "This is Mrs. Owens with the Association for a Better Malibu. Thanks for your contributions. We've made great strides, but it would help, dear, if you could move your trailer!" Remember the famous trailer on the beach where he lived and the Firebird he drove?

I enjoyed the series in the 70's and the later Rockford File movies but had no idea that the character was created by Roy Huggins based on James Garner's enormously successful role as Brett Maverick years earlier. His specialty was "closed cases" and he embarrassed the police quite frequently throughout the series by solving these impossible cases. Rockford didn't care because he had been wrongfully accused of a crime and spent five years in jail before be exonerated. He was this business for the money and was described in the first chapter: "he did like money: he charged $200 a day, plus expenses, so he'd hang in there no matter what if he could smell a fat check down the road. "I won't kill for money, and I won't marry for it," he once said. "Other than that, I'm open to just about anything."

Many familiar faces guest starred on the Rockford Files over the years like Stephanie Powers, Lindsay Wagner, Ned Beatty and Tom Selleck just to name a few. Each chapter is full of facts surrounding guest appearances as well as linking them to James Garner's career. For example, Suzanne Somers guest starred on The Rockford Files in 1974, three years before she made it big on Three's Company with John Ritter. James Garner later joined the cast of 8 Simple Rules following John Ritter's untimely death in 2003.

So if you or someone you know is a Rockford Files fan, "Thirty Years of the Rockford Files" is a must have!

"The Little Olive Amuc's" (A Poem of the Little People in the Andes of Peru - Legends)

Ah, little olive fellows from the Andes


Or some internal caves therein:


From Ticlio, or Bone City (La Oroya),


An underworld civilization!

According to the very best of legends—


From the Wanka to the Inca times—


They live in the crust of the earth


And in the hard cold mineral mines!

They followed the miner's footsteps


From barbarity nights to dawn


A dwindling civilization


With cities of gold and bronze!

By them are the treasures well-known;


Hidden in underground temples;


From Machu Picchu to the Mantaro Valley


To the Nazca Peruvian Lines!

With all of this ponderous mystery


It's distressing these earthly Amuc


Reveal little sign of their whereabouts


But provoke our most curious thoughts.

Such mystery with humans and pixie's,


The problems of peace a pauper,


Relations between goodwill for both,


Or misdeed and rebuke therefore!

So when we look for treasures dim,


And find problems of where and when,


Simple find an Olive Amuc and pray,


He will by your very best Friend!

#1795 4-18-2007

Note: Legend has it these Amuc of the Andes, are perhaps a foot to 18-inches tall; some with blond and other with dark hair. It has been said they have iron wings, and live in the mines of the Peruvian Andes. Many older folks who have been in the mines, worked them, have claim they have seen them; or folks that have known folks that have. Myself, I have never seen them, and I've been in the Andes, but I'm looking forward to it. And when I do, I of course will let you know. The Wanka to the Inca times, infer, between AD 700 to 1600 (and from the present times: the time of the Miners).

Ultimate Wealth Package Review – Thumbs Up?

Ultimate Wealth Package is written by the famous Mark Warren. The ebooks by Mark Warren usually contain pretty good information and Ultimate Wealth Package was one of the earlier digital books on how to make a lot of money online. We'll discuss in this honest and no holds barred review whether Ultimate Wealth Package is worth your time and money. After that, you can make your decision whether to purchase.

First of all, Ultimate Wealth Package is priced decently, but let me first state that is not a revolutionary product. It is more targeted for the newbie and contains some grammatical errors.

There is an upsell to a VIP package and you can sign up for their preferred webhost and affiliate website to get you started. They will walk you step by step through ClickBank, Adwords, Yahoo and a few other important programs. This will get you started online making money real quickly.

The volume of information contained is massive. For experienced marketers, this may mean nothing, but it is gold for the rookie. The content is concise and very useful, and provides more than ample education for the beginning marketer.

Probably the best aspect about Ultimate Wealth Package is that it gives you a step by step plan to getting started making money on the Internet. It helps you in setting your goals, and putting you on the right path. All in all, Ultimate Wealth Package is a great resource for newbies, and the foundation on which your future Internet business will be built upon.

Pati Berg's New Novel A Must Buy

Pati Berg's Book 'Wife for a Day' by Avon Romance.

I read the back of this book and was totally convinced it was for me. And trust me, lately it is getting harder and harder to do that. So at least the back of the cover sells this book.

But once I started reading it, what struck me was the amazing characterization done by this author. She really did a great job nailing down the characters and I'm talking about all the characters in the entire novel.

The book begins humbly.

Meet Samantha Jones, a 25 year old completely down on her luck. She has money troubles, a little bit about a big grave she bought for her momma without the knowledge that the man she was borrowing from was a loan shark. But of course, this was better than option two which was marrying a complete jerk who left a scar on her jaw when she said it wouldn't work out.

And while you'd think this character would have some self-esteem problems, she doesn't. She's been brought up tough. So when life throws her another turn and she is fired from high end suit altering Antonio's, she picks up a sew machine and goes to the last job she heard about, hoping only for the tip.

Samantha puts on the biggest front of her life when confronted by foul tempered milionaire rancher Jack Remington. His fiance breaks up with him, concluding that he really'isn't any good. When confronted by the seamstress, he can't help but think she would fit the bill of the fiance his sister hasn't yet met. This could avoid some hurt feelings for his sister and he proposes a job opportunity to her.

With her loan shark expecting money any day, she doesn't hesitate although her moral compass clearly says that she should. But times are tough and she goes for it, showing up at a ball where the elite with money meet to talk about this or that.

At first, she's convinced she can put Jack and his sister in the same set but instead, she ends up finding out that they are both fairly down-to-earth.

And unlike other romances where you'll find the central misunderstanding or premise cleared up by chapter six, Pati Berg doesn't bother clearing this one up for a good long time. It makes the book more enjoyable and more over-the-top. The relationship between the main characters is also over-the-top with calamity abouding.

Join these characters for a great adventure where the author sprinkles in the past and shows how these two people developed.

One of the other things I'd like to point out without spoiling the ending is that there are butterflies in this book. Are you aware that butterflies are a message of hope?

This book is an avon book and the key website is www.avonbooks.com/romance.

With this book as my first from Patti Berg, I can't wait to investigate and find out if she has anymore books.

This book gets the review of 4 1/2 out of 5 possible stars because there are details here and there that are confusing or aren't cleared up.

The Carrot Principle - Book Review

The central issue in "The Carrot Principle" is to spark motivation and enthusiasm in employees. The writers of the book, Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, claim that the main catalyst for that endeavor is recognition.

Part one of the book starts with Charles Goodyear's experimentation, hard work, failures, and eventual success in coming up with the prototype of today's rubber industry. Once the writers lure the interest of the reader with that fascinating story, they go on to present their more or less proven theory of management rewards to stimulate employee participation.

They categorize leadership in basic four areas: Goal setting, Communication, Trust, and Accountability. When and if a manager becomes proficient in these areas, he still needs something more as an accelerator or a catalyst for employee motivation. That catalyst is recognition. Recognition is not a money reward, for money, as much as it is appreciated in the beginning, is used up and forgotten in its due time.

Real recognition comes in many forms: day-to-day pat-in-the back form of recognition, more formal recognition of employees when they go above and beyond their duties, employee's general career recognition, and celebrating with the entire team or company.

Whether they run a ten-person company or a major mega business, sticking with the carrot principle, managers achieve higher successes with productivity, engagement and retention of employees, and customer satisfaction. The book, The Carrot Principle, emphasizes the triumph of its principal idea with statistical proof by showing several graphs and remarkable case studies of ten years and numerous managers.

For those who claim they have budgeting or other problems for proper employee recognition, chapter ten gives 125 recognition ideas such as: "Don't send a card on an employee's birthday; deliver it to her in person. In advance of the visit, write on the card a short list of the person's achievements during the past year. Read it together. It will be one gift she won't soon forget."

As seen from the above quote, the language of the book is easy to understand and the ideas in it are explained with strength and clarity to obtain and maintain a motivated work force that will empower any business.

The book--ISBN-10: 0743290097 and ISBN-13: 978-0743290098--is in 176 pages and is divided in three parts and ten chapters with four appendices at its end.

Of the two authors who are best known as the carrot guys, Adrian Gostick earned his master's degree in Strategic Communication and Leadership from Seton Hall University, where he is a guest lecturer on organizational culture. As an employee motivation expert, Gostick has appeared on several network television programs, and he is the leader of O.C. Tanner company's recognition training and publishing practice. Gostick has written several successful books, including the New York Times bestseller, The Invisible Employee. He also wrote the Wall Street Journal and Business Week bestseller, A Carrot a Day; The Integrity Advantage. His books The 24-Carrot Manager and A Carrot a Day are sold in more than fifty countries around the world.

Chester Elton, the other carrot guy, is a writer-lecturer on motivation. He has also co-authored The Invisible Employee; The 24-Carrot Manager, which was called a "must read" by Larry King; and the Wall Street Journal and Business Week bestseller, A Carrot a Day. As a motivation expert, Elton has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Fast Company magazine, has been profiled in The New York Times, and has been called "an apostle of appreciation" by the Globe and Mail (Canada). He has also been a guest on NBC's Today Show, CNN's Business Unusual, and on National Public Radio.

The Carrot Principle is an indispensable book for any manager; however, it is also a good book to read by the layman, because the ideas in it can readily be applied to everyday living.

Colour Energy by Inger Naess

The first two chapters of Colour Energy (Colour Energy Corporation) delve into author Inger Naess's perspective (as well as some facts) about energy, God, light, chakras, living, dying, and the importance of living in the present moment. All of this is information found in other books, but still serves as a good overall background for those who are new to this type of material.

Naess says there are two aspects of ourselves: the negative side which includes anger, fear, slyness, falseness, and so on, and our positive side which includes happiness, love, joy, charity, kindness, etc. She says we live most of our lives in a "balance zone," that tips back and forth between the positive and negative.

Again, nothing earth shattering as far as information goes, but as Naess digs deeper into the subject material we learn that "light is energy and colour comes from light." If we want to express our positive nature more often, it is important to know what color is most beneficial to us for raising our personal energy.

Naess claims that no one is just one color, but rather a "rainbow" of colors, and we all use different "colour fuel" based on our personalities and characteristics. There are seven separate colour energies:

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Blue

Indigo

Violet

By discovering which color dominates your personality, Naess says you can figure out why you react as you do in different situations. Or why certain colors make you feel blah and yuck, and others make you feel good about yourself. Naess includes a simple test designed to uncover your personal color.

Once you discover your color, this book gets very interesting. In no-nonsense language, Naess lays out the personality, traits, strengths and weaknesses inherently found in the people associated with each of the colors and its corresponding chakra location.

This is where Naess shines as an expert. As a former nurse and interior designer, I found her assessments and tips relevant and believable. Assessments include everything from sex, health issues, money, success, careers, and relationships. Tips include what careers you may find most appealing and "right" for you, the ideal relationship colour match, what clothes you should wear, what food and drinks empower you, what colors you should use in your home, affirmations for each of the color personalities and more. She also lists the positive and negative characteristics of each color as they apply to the individual.

I found this book extremely helpful for gaining insight into why I think and react as I do, and why others think and react as they do. Once you know your primary personality color, it is much easier to surround yourself in those colors that promote healing, inspiration, and peace, while avoiding the colors that bring you down or agitate.

Naess is also the owner of Colour Bath and devotes an entire chapter to her business. This lengthy plug, and the one that requests money to receive a personal Colour Energy chart, is the reason for a 4-star rating. The questions at the back of the book come off as a tease and this reader was disappointed that this valuable information wasn't included. But in all fairness to the author, it looks as if the Colour Energy Corporation published the book and the publisher is certainly entitled to print what she will. It's her dime, after all.

Overlooking that minor quibble, this is a read well worth the while for anyone who wants to know more about how color, light, and energy influence their lives. It also promotes understanding for other people's behavior, reactions, and choices by intimately delving into the psyche of each of the seven personality colors.

Copyright 2007 – Mary M. Bauer. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Curse God and Die!

"Curse God and die!"


That is what Job's wife


Had to say with her life


Job 2:9 may encourage


Men with wayward wives


Who twist and torment


Their devout spiritual lives


She sought to discourage


The meek man of God


To whom she was married


She claimed God tarried


Denied the poor old soul


As he laid in a bed of illness


Waiting to be healed and whole


Job's wife defiantly thought to


Get him to give up all hope


Doubt, vacillate, and struggle


Be overwhelmed and beyond


The stability that anchors


The tranquility that subdues


The faith the quietly conquers


Silencing nasty gnawing negativity


That tries to sink you devilishly


Job would not join her pity party


Job dared to believe unashamedly


Job continually worshipped happily


Job endured trials wholeheartedly


Refused to waver with hostility


Stood firm, abiding faithfully


Encouraging himself inwardly


Always arising expectantly


Awaiting God to miraculously


Wipe away his hurt and pain


Shut the accuser's mouth


Bind every evil adversary


Provide and give prosperity


Fill him with divine ability


To lift up his head proudly


Concerning God Almighty


Who He knew in victory


Inwardly and outwardly


Job's faith produced fully


Proved timeless and truthful


God showed Himself powerful


Vindicating Job suddenly


Against every lying enemy


Sadly his wife was among


That pathetic critical company


Nevertheless Job withstood


Such cruel hurtful mediocrity


Holding fast to his destiny


Job received double suddenly


When God turned his captivity


Slapped success on Job mightily


Giving him double for his trouble


Lifting him far above the rubble


Of his dreadful, difficult past


Job greatly showed humanity


That pain doesn't always last


Truth does forever remain


The pure will always endure


Therefore be tender and true


No matter what we go through


Uphold God and not disdain


Challenges and deep pain


Because God can rearrange


Change all in Jesus Name!


The God of the resurrection


Blesses the weak and lame


And the critic's tongue tame.

Reverse Discrimination

Please forgive me for being white


I know it used to be ok and alright


However now it is difficult to succeed


Surpass the affirmative action stampede


Get a joy for which you are qualified


Unless your skin color is first verified


Your race approved and authorized


As if this was necessary for employment


Though they call it social advancement


I am beginning to believe otherwise


As now it is white people they despise


Disallow to get a job unless they are


On the top of the affirmative color list


Now the white people who get dismissed


Forget their background and education


Immigrants and aliens from another nation


Get preferential treatment and positions


Before qualified and fit whites are hired


Never mind how difficult it now is to fire


Remove a lazy employee of that category


They threaten to litigate and demonstrate


Meanwhile on the job they aggravate


Irritate, emasculate, and castrate the boss


Who they disrespect and flippantly toss


Around the office as they talk trash


Telling disgruntled co-workers to kiss ass


Tolerate their misbehavior as they dominate


Speak rudely and crudely as they infuriate


Warning everybody to appease and placate


Lest they file a complaint of harassment


Drum up charges of racial discrimination


Driving whites into isolation and alienation


Unable to get liberation and emancipation


From fear, intimidation, and manipulation


As diehards on the job do away with justice


Simply trying to peaceably avoid a racial ruckus


Quiet all the employees and silence the fuss


Though we all know not everyone is for us


Angry whites boiling within go home and cuss


As affirmative action dismantles any incentive


To respectfully work and be truly productive


Ironically those with work count it an elective


But those doing all of and being denied work


The qualified w/out promotions have perspective.

Reading The Right Books

Reading right books on different subjects can broaden our mind. Your mind is exposed to different cultures, traditions around the world. Through reading, you get an opportunity to closely understand the cultures, traditions and practices exist in different countries. Reading translated works from other languages will help you to understand the lifestyle, history of the countries from which the book is originally written. Moreover, reading helps you to improve your language also.

Reading helps you to look into the past, to closely observe mankind's travel to this modern world. Reading helps you to travel in a time machine; it helps you to talk to our ancestors. It reveals many secrets for us.

Reading is totally different from the experience of watching a movie, or listening to radio. Both these activities require our partial involvement. Reading requires our mind's total involvement during the reading process. So select a calm and quite place for reading. If you are reading a book on a hard subject, this is especially important. A small distraction can turn your mind's involvement from the reading. Make it a habit to read the preface of any book you are going to read. It helps you to understand what the book is really about. It gives an overview about the book, the subject it handles etc. When you read the preface you get an overall idea about the book and it helps you to decide whether to read the whole book or not.

A good book helps to improve our lifestyle, our outlook towards the whole life. Bible is a good example of this. Bible contains the rise and fall of many civilizations; its contents also help one to make changes in his or her life.

Search for fine gifts around the world.

Love Me or Leave Me

Love me or leave me!


Don't continually grieve me


Complain and murmur to me


Disrespect and belittle me


Compare me with others


Criticize my weaknesses


While neglecting your own


Don't irritate my at home


Mope, groan, and moan


About trivial matters


Most inconsequential


Don't speak unkind to me


Abuse me emotionally


While milking me financially


Bulldozing forcefully over me


Exploding unnecessarily


Nitpicking me continually


If this is how you feel deeply


Than please up and leave me!


Because I truly do love me


Regardless of what you see


Despite what you do speak


With your tongue in cheek


I live and love wholeheartedly


I don't dwell, nor live in jealousy


I can endure countless difficulties


Put up with innumerable challenges


Overcome immeasurable barriers


As long as my heart is willing


And my prized will within able


I consider all things capable


I serve the God of the impossible


Who loves all unconditional


His decision is not conditional


Upon our personal perfection


On the contrary, He loves always


Through life's highs and lows


He loves when we don't show


Loving-kindness back to Him


He keeps His Word and worth


When we act utterly worthless


Sink below our potential into less


He abides continually faithful


Through each and every test


Of life through which we go


Grace and kindness He does show


Which ever way we choose to go


Though He does certainly know


That which is best for us indeed


Us by His Son, He has freed


To feel, flow, and even bleed


To live, love, and often learn


His love we sometimes scorn


Yet by it we shall be newborn


And breakthrough everything


Believe and you'll again sing


Love, don't leave and grieve


Those who leave soon bereave


Those who endure much and love


Shine bright with glory from above.

In Communion With the Father

It's Easter and I thought on this night of the arrest Thursday night and 3.45 in Australia I would write a tribute to the cross in poetry and have a deeper look at what the cross is and what it is to be in communion with the Father through the precious blood of His Son Jesus. I pray you are blessed this day.

Tried and true

Black and white

Sometimes communion for me is just boring

With the same passage

With the same pastor

And the same monotone voice

The last supper we drink and eat

Simply does not have emotion for me

But tonight as my evangelist pastor shared

What his faith meant and the history of the last supper

On the eve of the arrest

In a church that is blessed

To have the money to feed the poor

From the drinker to the addict

I felt my heart overcome

And tears run down my eyes

And saw a couple of people

Finally give their life to Christ

Oh that I wish

That many pastors could walk In the spirit

That could be tuned with God's tuning fork

And vibrate as the Spirit speaks

And cut with the routine

And cut out the verse

And just at one time

Get honest and share some hurt

For why their life was a mess

And out of control

And one day they gave in

To the Spirits move within

And finally gave up the fight

And surrendered their pride

And took Christ free gift

And gave over their life

Oh communion with God

A deep and personal relation is precious

To be able to speak to him for hours

And have him speak back

To be visited by his saints

And comforted in visions

And to know God's opinion

On everything happening on earth

Oh for a communion

When the sinner dies on a cross

Crucified with Christ

And living on the breath of the Spirit

And putting to death the lusts of the flesh

And removing our spiritual pride

To take up our cross

And to deny our selfish desires

And say not my will lord

But yours be done

Do what you will

With this willing son

Will you commune with Christ?

This Easter and die to your flesh?

Will you put aside all your dreams?

Your desires and your doctrines?

And simply say here I am Lord

Teach me your ways

Take my life Jesus and crucify me

And purge me of my sinful ways

Will you commune with Christ?

And be a partaker in the suffering?

Will you take up your cross?

And through denial of self

Help all the hurting

By spending your money

On the poor and sowing your time

Into people who need help

And the gifts that you have

Will you be the shepherd?

For the lost sheep of the pasture

The ones that have strayed

That Don't go to church and who drink

He might be in a pub

He might by gambling

He might be the guy you work with

But he's lonely and he's lost

Will you take up a burdon?

And share the work of the Lord?

And sacrifice some pleasure,

Some time and resources?

To go and bind up the hurting?

And heal all the sick

And put a loving arm around

That man that is always sick?

Will you share the cup that Jesus drank?

Will you partake of the suffering?

Are you willing to suffer for Christ?

And be part of the winners

Guys we are all in a race

And we all have a prize promised

And when we get to heaven

It there we will be honored

Some with a crown

Some with many more

Some people's works will be burned up

And by the skin of the teeth they will be saved

Oh heaven is a land

Afar off but sitting

In the hearts of the willing

The ones that are called

To take up a cross

And have the communion

To suffer with Christ

To walk in the spirit

And to be rejected and despised

And misunderstood

Yet happy and rejoicing

For the good fruit that we see

The happy faces, the salvations

The growing in grace

That we see in people we love

And people we have helped

And to hear God speak through a prophet

That you're already a good son and he is well pleased

Like he did for Jesus at his baptism

Come on guys, let's take a communion

This holy day

And take God at his word

And turn our back on man's ways

God bless you

Happy Easter

The Cry Of A Lone Prophet

I'm a lone voice


A prophet without a pulpit


and man with a mission


A man that is waiting on the sands of time


to pass until the Lord is ready


for the message to come to maturity

I am man misunderstood


Maligned not trusted and not understood


I feel like I am stuck in the Old Testament


Like a prophet of doom


I see judgment looming


Almost crashing over my country and yours

I see an angry God with a backslidden church


I see the church that have lost their first love


And false prophets and teachers teaching people to err


and I feel like screaming in the streets


Feel like taking a full page advertisement in the paper


And prophesying over my nation

But I lack money and I am restrained


by the loving hand of God


Whose Sprit tells me what to do


And whose Spirit directs me what to write

Even if my grammar and spelling need attention


The message is true and from the throne room


I hear the thunder and the lightning

I hear the hooves of the four horseman of the apocalypse


I feel and see the Lord jump on the white horse


And Mary she bids her master goodbye and the scrolls are open


And the book of Revelation is open and


John the apostle seems to have seen our world

What is the matter why can't they see?

That life on earth is worse then


any time in history


And the evil is coming worse and worse and


men and women are out of control


And the church is not keeping a standard

but flirting in the world like a wanton harlot

Where are the voices of judgment?


Who is blowing the trumpets of warning?


Where is the rebuke and stiff arm of correction?


Who is speaking the word of the Lord?


Doesn't the world care?


Are they all preachers preaching to itching ears?


Where is the truth?


What is wrong?


And am I to be a lone prophet a weeping prophet?


Meeting people from heaven to comfort me


As I have few on earth that feel my grief.

Oh for a company of prophets


Oh for a real voice of the Lord


Oh for the right way and correction

for the great harlot that has sold her harlotry to the world


as the Beast comes he will love her for a time


this seducing church, their prosperity covetous doctrine


That ensnares the church with the lusts of the flesh

Oh God take me home.

9 Tips To Help New Authors Market & Promote Their Books

9 TIPS TO HELP NEW AUTHORS MARKET & PROMOTE THEIR BOOKS

Congratulations on the publication of your book! It is the fruit of all your labor. The writing and rewriting process. The agonizing book publishing process that seemed to take forever. Now that your book, your baby, is published, what's next?

Your book is your baby. Don't expect anyone else to care for it. Don't expect the publishing company to do all the publicity for it. This is especially true if this is your first book. You have to be the one to sell it. You have to identify yourself as a salesperson for your book and commit to marketing and promoting it.

How can new authors market and promote their books? Here are a few tips.

1) Market & Promote Your New Book Through The Internet
The Internet opens the possibilities for communicating about your book to potential readers around the world. It gives you the only continuously operating method for marketing your book 24 hours a day. The Internet is an inexpensive, measurable way to build relationships with readers and generate book sales.

2) Market & Promote Your New Book At Bookstores
Getting published is no guarantee your book is on the bookstore shelf. Don't despair. Do your homework. Bookstores are interested in promoting local authors. By developing a working relationship with store personnel you can not only get your book in stores but also promote it through book signings on and off site.

3) Market & Promote Your New Book Through Your Inner Circle
You have a large database of the target audience for your book within family and friends. They are your inner circle of contacts. They also have friends, co-workers, church members, and other contacts that make up an outer circle of contacts for you.

4) Market & Promote Your New Book By Writing Articles
As the author, you have knowledge about the specific topic in your new book. Gaining greater visibility of your knowledge helps to establish your credibility and also promotes you and your book. A great way to gain that visibility and position yourself as an 'expert' is by writing articles and getting them published.

5) Market & Promote Your New Book By Working With Your Publisher
Don't be surprised if your book hasn't received a large allocation from your publisher's marketing budget. However, you need to get a clear understanding of the initial book marketing efforts that are developed by your publisher. There are steps you can take to get the maximum benefit out of those efforts.

6) Market & Promote Your New Book Through Media Outlets
The cost of media advertising is very expensive and therefore out of reach for the books of new authors. However, there are inexpensive ways to get media exposure for your book. Seek news opportunities that will tie in with your book. Be available for television and radio interviews. Even local media interviews will bring you in front of thousands of people.

7) Market & Promote Your New Book By Connecting To Your Target Audience
Identify the shopping habits, hobbies, and other characteristics of your target audience that could give you ideas of how to reach them with your book marketing efforts.

8) Market & Promote Your New Book Through Alliances
Identify opportunities for partnering with organizations, institutions, and corporations that serve or target your potential readers. Seek sponsorships that will fund marketing activities in which you and your book will help the partner achieve its goals and objectives.

9) Market & Promote Your New Book By Building A Platform
Take the subject of your book and expound upon it on the public stage. Promote yourself as an 'expert' via speaking engagements, articles, media interviews, and other public relations activities. People will purchase your book to learn more of what you have to say.

You don't have to be a "master salesperson" to promote your book. It may seem uncomfortable initially. However, the determination you put into writing the book must also be displayed in its marketing and promotion. Taking an active role in promoting your books will not only boost the sales of your current book, but it will pave the way for your future ones.

Self - Publishing - Things To Look For, Part Two

This article contains information for those who decide to self publish their own book. There are certain things that should be included in the package offered. It is the second of three articles.

We discussed four things in the previous article to look for in a self-publishing package. This article continues that train of thought.

Fifth: Does the publisher offer an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or European Article Number (EAN)? Most publishers now offer the EAN, which includes the ISBN embedded within it. This is comprised of a series of numbers and a bar code, normally on the back or inside front cover of the book. These numbers enable the seller of the book to identify the book, the publisher, and even the price within its database. You should have the ISBN number at the least. Some publishers will include this assignment with the book-publishing package; others may require that you go through the effort to secure it. It is easier to choose a package that includes it already for you. You do not want to publish your book without it. It also helps to track your book's sales, as well as inventory and availability.

Sixth: How much are the author discounts? Do they make it easy for you to buy your own books to sell yourself? A 50 percent discount should be the minimum offered. Most packages provide a number of "free" books as well. However, assuming you do your homework—and footwork—hopefully you will need to order more books. The discount allows you to make a nice profit on those books you sell yourself. In most cases, you should be able to double your profit per book—at least—when you sell them yourself to friends or new lovers of your work.

Seventh: Can bookstores return your books if they do not sell? Almost every self-publishing company will say that your book will be available for sale at any bookstore. While this is theoretically true, it does mean the store will choose to carry your book. You may feel that everyone will be clamoring to pick up your book at the nearest store. The fact of the matter, however, is that you will need to work hard to get stores to offer it. If you do your job promoting it as you should, however, you might be able to work out a deal with your local independent store or chain. They will be much more likely to carry the book if it is returnable. If they cannot, they will rarely take the risk. Beware at this point: some publishers offer this valuable feature with your package; others may charge you hundreds of dollars a year for this. Unless you sale a thousand copies in bookstores, you do not want to pay extra. On the other hand, this feature cannot be overlooked either.

Eighth: What is the retail price of your book going to be with the publisher you choose? While you may have a worthwhile book, if the price is set too high, when compared to similar books (page count and content), you are setting yourself up for failure. Some publishers artificially inflate the price in order to brag about their large royalties. However, if your book does not sale because it is too expensive, it really does not matter how large the potential royalty.

In the next article, we will conclude our discussion of things to look for in a self-publishing package.