Kindle Review

          I found something on the kindle page that allows you to have a "historical" look. Quite interesting.

          My friend Dave (RIP) put most of my books on kindle in 2011. The stats indicate that since then there have been approximately 11,000 downloads. Most of these occurred in the first two years, that is, from about 2011 to 2013, and the vast majority were downloaded free.  Amazon have sent me about £200 in royalties.

          I think I gave my daughter about twenty quid for every cover she designed and I think she did maybe eight of them. So I'm in the gravy and about £40 up on the deal.

          Anyway, despite the paltry returns, it's been worth doing. The books were dead otherwise and at least some folk might have liked them. There have been hardly any reviews really. Some of them have been alright and some absolutely awful. Stumblebumming Towards Enlightenment has only picked up two reviews and both were from people who hated it. Well, the perfect reader for that book is someone who meditates and is interested in doing The Six Yogas of Naropa, and I don't think anyone else should bother with it.

            The book I'm writing at the moment will be much more accessible. When I do a wee bit of work every now and again on it, I remember how much I enjoy writing stuff. That's what counts really. All the rest of the business just gets you into bother!

         

Remote Control 5 star review

          Just found a five star review on the Spanish kindle site.

2013-07-18Compra verificada

Remote Control

This book has terrific, or even terrorific, dialogue. Whatever will the main protagonist get up to next? you ask yourself as he muddles along caught up in an impossible situation while continually winding his way through drug-induced highs and lows. I thought the subject matter would abhor me, but I was wrong! Brilliant!

Samye Ling Photies

          The first photie is of the part of the river where I usually meditate for a while when I'm  at the Samye Ling. It was too brass monkeys to meditate there on this visit, but it's where I want my ashes scattered, at the narrow point.

          Very interested to find that the teachings I was reading in Profound Buddhism by Kalu Rinpoche were given at the Samye Ling, where I was reading them about thirty five years later. It dawned on me that Lama Rinchen Palmo was probably in the audience since Kalu Rinpoche was her root guru. Kind of made the hairs rise on the back of my neck ...

Samye Ling and the heat.

                   Problems getting photies uplifted as usual, so this is an old one of the kalachakra mandala which I once bought for my auld maw. It's now hanging on my kitchen wall.

                   This is my third day down at the Samye Ling. Probably haven't been here since September which is not good enough! Anyway, I just had to get away from all the bad stuff I do in Edinburgh and kind of re-affirm what it is I'm really supposed to be doing.

                   It always takes a couple of days to really settle in here. You really want the first sleep to go well, and mine didn't really. Due to previously waking up here drenched in sweat, I know sleep on top of the downie under the quilt. But I wakened up around four and went under the downie and wakened up drenched in sweat! You've got to laugh. Last night was fine though. Probably a better sleep than I usually get in Edinburgh.

                   So this morning the meditations really started working. Many times before I've had intimations of heat --- I thought I'd cracked it about fifteen years ago when I had a sudden arising, but that never happened again --- and I have definitely been getting warm sometimes over the last year or so.

                   When I did the nine weeks on the Holy Isle, I hoped I'd get this heat stuff sorted then, but it didn't work out like that. Got lots of bliss of course, but not much heat.

                   This morning was different. I'm getting warm by just sitting doing the calming meditations. This is an appreciable heat. So now I'm getting heat okay, but I'm kind of stuck because I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. Truck on, I guess.

                   Lama Rinchen told me that the meditations and the heat will burn off all the neuroses if  I stick with it. Alexandra David-Neel says yogis get hot and go cotton clad, but after a while the thing equalises to the heat in the environment. I really don't know. I'm in the dark.

                  Should I be a little bit concerned? Tai Situ's book, which I have with me here, says doing this juju without a qualified helper is like getting someone who knows nothing about electricity sorting the electrics in your house. The house can burn down.

                  Of course, I have qualified help!! Just not here really. Anyway, nothing bad has happened to me so far. Guess I just keep on keeping on.

                   It's harder coming here when your visits are less frequent, and when you have been behaving badly at home. I'm a bit annoyed with myself. The pollutions make it harder to settle. When I was with Winnie on the Holy Isle a couple of years ago, I sat one morning for four hours. My practice these days is pretty pathetic. But l had a dream last night which I actually remembered. Haven't really been even remembering dreams for the last couple of years. This is not good. But, despite everything, there is obvious progress in the meditations. I wasn't getting heat like this in September.

                   I've arranged to see Lama Rinchen on the 5th January. She'll be on her way to the Holy Isle for the winter retreat. I'd like to go and I'd like not to go. The nine weeks I did there seemed to be no use to my daughter or Heather. C'est la vie.

Fasting.

          Managed to fast yesterday. Due to being a fat basturn these days, I've had a few days recently when I haven't eaten much, but it's years since I ate nothing all day. Very pleased.

More Longniddry Bent photies.

          The driving around the hinterlands of  Edinburgh on Saturdays has been a real highlight of the week recently. Lovely views, lovely sunsets, bonnie Scotland.

           Everything seems to be going well. The main thing, of course, concerns the meditations which continue in a most encouraging fashion. And this is my time of the week. Let's hope for more developments and many, many hours on the cushion over the next few days. That's the way to do it!

          Just checked my emails and got the rejection from the Traverse. The usual standard letter. Seemed to think the play was called 0069, but that's just because they couldn't be bothered to check the email. Anyway, sending plays which haven't been commissioned to the Traverse is not the way to get plays produced. Well, I knew that. But there's really nothing I can think of doing with a play that hasn't been commissioned except send it to the Traverse. And that's not the way to do it!!

       

November Colours

               We've been getting about quite a bit over the last weekend. Both on Saturday and Sunday we were motoring all over east Lothian; North Berwick, Dunbar, etc.  The last photie was taken this morning. Rainbow didn't quite come out.

               Everything seems to be gradually getting better.  Apart from the weather. Going to see Auntie Kathy so it must be Thursday. Hope the rain stays off!

Allotment in November

          I'm eating a plate of tatties, boiled then slowly fried in the wok with olive oil and quite a lot of onion. The tatties and the onions did very, very well this year. I don't know what kind of tatties these are, but they seem very like King Edwards. Add salt and sauce. I do not think this will make me any slimmer, especially since I'm eating it with wonderful weissbiers.

          Tuesday is the new Monday. Yesterday I went to the hospital for Poisonous to get a stookie off his arm. One thing leads to another.

          The cabbages were also quite good this year, but I've eaten them all.

          Most of the transplanting of stuff from one side of the allotment to the side I now rent has been done. I dug up the strawberries today. The last photie is of the shambles I've created. Slipshod Johnnyboy.

No Response from Agents about play.

          I think I sent out about six emails to agents who were registered as being interested in hustling plays, and I did get one response. I sent one to Tom Erhardt, an agent who tried half heartedly to get a further production of BUSTED. This was in about 1992, so someone got back to me from that agency to say that he'd retired. Well, I kind of guessed that. Anyway, despite having eight plays produced and two novels published, etc., etc., it is difficult to get anyone even read a play.

          This is what I expected. That is why there is no point in writing Hamlet if you do not have connections in the business already. Really, you have to be engaged. I might send out some other emails soon since I do think I should try to do something with this play since it might not be too bad.

          We went to Newbattle Abbey College for our Saturday outing and the photies were taken there.

           Today I moved a gooseberry and a blackcurrant bush over to what is now my side of the allotment. Once I get the strawberries moved, that'll be that.