About My Blog…
What to say here without embarking on a personal Odyssey?
On my blog, the reader will find a cross-section of my writings: short stories, flash fiction, the occasional article and some satire, and lots and lots of book reviews. I’m sure I share many of the reasons why other people blog, be it aspiring and established writers showcasing their prose, photographers to share their pictures, entrepreneurs promoting their businesses, and a host of others. For some it will be an enjoyable hobby and an outlet for their creativity. For others, it might be the first tentative steps of a dreamed-of life-long career. But behind those commonly held reasons I imagine there to be many other, less obvious and personal reasons
For as long as can I remember, I’ve enjoyed writing of all kinds, anything from a short story to express an idea to something as mundane as writing an email to praise or complain about some product or service. But it’s only since August 2013 since I resurrected the blog I started back in February of 2012 that I’ve wanted to do more with my writing.
I recently decided to take early retirement to enjoy my many outdoor pursuits whilst still fit and healthy enough to enjoy them, and to pursue my writing ambitions, unhindered by the constraints and obligations of full-time employment. So what of this blog? How does this fit into my retirement and writing in general?
In this day and age, people are living longer and healthier more active lives. The time following retirement is no longer just a short interlude before the final curtain that draws a close on us all. And whilst I’m looking forward to long lazy country walks, mountain biking through the Welsh valleys, weekends of wild camping in Scotland, and climbing my favourite mountains, and I daresay, quite a bit of baby-sitting the grandkids, I want my life to mean more than just the usual self-indulged recreational pleasures in the years to come. I want my writing to be a more permanent reflection of my life and interests; to hopefully bring an occasional moment of pleasure, not just to family and friends, but strangers who I may never meet, just as the many other bloggers and aspiring writers have brought me.
In the short time I’ve been taking my blog more seriously, I’ve exchanged advice and comments with many other writers, both published and unpublished, and learned so much. Not only has my writing much improved, but also my reading; by way of the books I’ve reviewed and the many posts I’ve read, I’ve discovered and enjoyed genres I might otherwise never have given a second thought.
As we’ve seen from the many talent shows that grace our television screens, there’s a wealth of undiscovered talent out there, as good and often better than many of the established ‘artists’. From what I’ve seen here on ‘WordPress’, and the self-published books I’ve reviewed, I think much the same can be said of the world of writing and literature, that here lies a literary goldmine, waiting to be discovered and enjoyed – something I definitely want to be a part of…
I hope you can review Mark Heathcos book: “Call Sign: Purple Three”.
It’s about his patrol on the DMZ South Korea in 1985.
Talks about what those 18 year old young men did to help keep North Korea from attacking South Korea.
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Oddly enough I was going to ask you if you had a link to it as I haven’t had a chance to check it out on Amazon yet but I will later… As a veteran (UK) I do read & review a few military themed books from time to time. It’ll probably be several weeks before I get round to it as I’ve committed to several others first.
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I sent you an email and would like to keep in touch. Also sent promo video for the book.
Thank you
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Mark Heathco book is on Amazon.
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Great sight, Paul. Can I join you on early retirement? That sounds fantastic! I hope you make the most of it.
If you get bored and need something to pass the time, let me know and I’d be glad to toss you a copy of my book, Time Heist.
Keep up the great work here!
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I’ll take a look over the weekend
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So what are your parameters for book review? I would love to send you a book if you are interested in reviewing it. I self-published this year and have found that marketing is a demon child. Plus, who has time for it? It’s either write or market and I prefer writing (since I, too, have a day job). LMK if you have interest. And thank you for the cherished-fest! 🙂
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Hi again..
No set parameters really, I’d be delighted to take a look at your book if you’d care to leave a link to it here, or maybe the title etc. Sadly some marketing is a necessary chore I think with self-publishing. Like yourself, not my most enjoyable pasttime, but thankfully there are all sorts of ways of marketing that aren’t so bad and don’t just involve the ‘buy my book’ approach… and thanks so much for stopping by, hope to hear from you soon.
Regards, Paul…
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Hi again, Paul and thanks for the generous offer of your time. I am happy to return the favor if you have the need since I love doing book reviews! As for my book, “Six Sisters”, do you have Kindle Unlimited? If so, the three individual novellas that comprise “Six Sisters” are available on Kindle Unlimited for free. They are “A Gathering of One”, “List of 55”, and “The Quality of Light.” Alternatively, and preferable for me as I’d like to at least give you something tangible, is for me to mail you a book. To do that, I will obviously need an address. I’m not sure how to private message someone on wordpress, but you can do it on my Facebook page at “P.J. Lazos” or on my Facebook page at “Pamela Lazos” if you would like to go this route. Again, thank you so much!
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I’ll be getting it over the weekend.
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My email is: echoesofthepen@gmail.com
Apologies for the delay in replying. Might be an idea to email a reminder. Thanks…
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Paul, I loved your idea of taking early retirement to do interesting stuff!
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I love your commitment and generosity in the time you give to fellow writers and bloggers. If I wore a hat, I’d doff it 🙂
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good and thorough blog
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Thanks Dean…
Really enjoyed ‘Silence Louder Than A Train,’ hope the review helps…
Regards,
Paul…
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Agree with Tom’s comment. This is a great site. We should meet up and do the Brecon Beacons again for some more pics. I’ve read most of your stuff on here and liked most of it. Will read the rest soon as P.
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Thanks for reading through most of my blog, and all the comments, and yes, the Brecons sounds a great idea, and maybe get old knucklehead along too.
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Hi Paul. I like the pictures, and I look forward to seeing more. Set yourself on that early retirement target and hit it mate. In October 2012, I stepped down from management to a three-day-week as a sales assistant. It was the best thing I ever did. Okay, I could afford to do it because of my Army pension, but I gave 23 years of my life to gain that.
I like your outlook. You can’t get time back, and you obviously appreciate that already. To take what you can from life needs a little bit of effort, and you’ve already proved you know what you want, so do it. Writing is a part of your future from what I’ve seen on your blog, so whatever else you do, don’t let the writing bug slip away. Uplifting blog, and you deserve all the accolades that come your way.
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Thanks for those kind words and great advice and encouragement. I’ll reply in more detail privately at some point if that’s okay…
cheers, Paul…
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I love the photos. Your About page is appealing. So many bloggers don’t out anything there and then there’s a like button. Nicely done!
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I hope to post some more after some further travels later in the year. Am glad you like them, and thanks for saying so, it’s genuinely appreciated!
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I love your idea of early retirement. I am 33 now, almost on the verge to turn 34 next month and working hard to ensure I retire by 40. Since I am running behind my life schedule in accumulating wealth, I am now trying my best to make optimum use of the next 7 years focusing on my target, but not without missing some great moments in life. I have my eye on the future, but my legs firmly placed in the present. I hope you celebrate your life to fullest after your retirement and keep writing more for us.
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What a wonderful gift to give yourself — the chance to take an earlier retirement and to focus more on writing and living life. Looking forward to reading about your journey!
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Thank you for that. I shall certainly be updating this aspect of my blog in the future..
* am enjoying your book reviews too – always good to compare and learn from other reviewers…
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Paul– you’re doing with blogging exactly what is the ideal thing imho, using it to reflect your lifestyle, and letting your lifestyle be affected positively by it.
Those are some gorgeous pictures– your country is beautiful! Link us up in the group to more of your travel posts, I think we’ll all be interested!
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That’s very kind of you to say so, i’ll be more than happy to. Thank you…
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Jealous of your ability to take an early retirement. My retirement date isn’t too far in the future, but I wish it was closer. I look forward to reading more of your posts.
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Many thanks for stopping by. i just read your Voyager post and ‘About’ page – both were fascinating (btw, i had a Stag instead of a Spitfire). I shall definitely be delving into more of your posts…
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Thanks.
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