Sunday 9 February 2014

The world is getting smaller and bigger

The world is getting smaller and bigger.

This blog was supposed to be about my big announcement that my books are now available not just in paperback and Kindle but also as eBooks for Nook and Kobo:
Click Here to check out my ebooks for Nook




 KEY WEST 

 DEATH by GLASGOW

 NAKED EUROPE

But this week, I was in a nostalgic (read: emotional with issues) mood after reluctantly selling my 14- year-old car that I had washed, polished and loved for many winters, springs, summers...you get the neurotic picture.

Signing over the car  'title' got me reminiscing about the good ol' days -  the early days. My first foray into the world of computing -

Ebooks are definitely here to stay and as a writer, despite my love of the paperback (and of course hardback), I'm happy to embrace the new technology. I must confess that the embrace does involve rather a large learning curve. From iPads to Kobo to Nook - how is the writer, who just a few years ago thought he'd mastered the ultimate in technology when he bought a Philips Videowriter word processor, supposed to keep up?
Jon Breakfields' first computer
A treasured mseum piece

This beast served as my notepad/typewriter for all my writing for many years. It had 16K of RAM and 16K of ROM and no I didn't misstype and forget a 'Mega' or a Giga'.
It weighed a mere 30 lbs. soaking wet and traveled with me across continents. Its main claim to fame was a supporting role in the Bond movie 'License to Kill'. If it was good enough for Bond then...
In the days when the sneaking on of carry-on baggage was a little less stressful than it is today - I dragged the beast on board flights across the pond. In its large black carry case, today it would be refused by the likes of Delta Airlines or Ryan Air as too large and overweight for even checked baggage, never mind as a carry-on.

I was the guy shoving past you to board the aircraft first to make sure there was a seat with extra legroom - not for me but my brontosaurus-sized laptop. I used to pray that it would fit under the seat in front of me - terrified in case the economy-class cabin staff would confiscate it and send it tumbling down into the bowels of the aircraft along with all those other fragile items...never to be retrieved in one piece. Going through security was always a nightmare when the dutiful ex-Stasi employees insisted I turned it on...not always prudent in a foreign county whose electricity supply was measured in enough volts to incinerate my treasured iPad of the 1980s.

You typed away and saw your words on a little screen - made your corrections. Happily accepted your one choice of font. Saved your work on a floppy disk that cost about $20 for one and printed out your work...and sent it off to potential publishers.

Many years later, I bought my first laptop ( A Toshiba - that had no internet access and weighed a mere 8lbs from an ex-felon in Key West) and marvelled at the technology until I had to sadly send the beast off to the computer knackers.

So back to the 21st century and I may not have an iPad or a touchpad or an eReader but I'm proud to say that you can read my books anyway you like to: hard, soft, over-easy ... just like an egg.


7 comments:

  1. I read your first book about Key West on my Kindle and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It had me laughing, quizzing my husband about gays and Key West, wincing, and looking for the next adventure. As a fellow northerner that has migrated to Florida, your insights rang true.

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  2. Wow Sade, Great to read your feedback. Many thanks for taking the time to comment (and actually read my book. Much appreciated, Jon

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  3. Hi from Key West! Thank you for your wonderful books, I honestly did not want them to end. Tonight my sister-in-law (who enjoyed your books as much as I did) and I met Popcorn Joe and had our picture taken with him. As we wander the neighbourhoods you discuss in your book and try to figure out were everything is you have made Key West come alive during a nasty Canadian winter. Wish we could buy you and your wife a drink and hear more tales of your adventures. Cheers, Maureen

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    1. Hi Maureen,
      Apologies for the delayed reply, was out of town with no internet.
      Thank you for the kind comments, very much appreciated.
      Gabrielle and I would love to take you up on the offer of a drink but only if we can reciprocate.
      As we speak, I'm just finishing the first draft of my next book DEATH by KEY WEST - a quirky and gritty crime thriller.
      Thank you again.
      Best,
      Jon

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  4. My sister and I visit Key West a few times a year. We're both reading your books while here now. They are funny, quirky and so perfectly describe the Key West we've come to love over the years. Our favorite bar is the Bull as well for the people watching windows and general fun atmosphere. If you see two women staring, it could be us. We've had a great "stalking" the books. Thanks for the fun read! Anna Tampa, FL

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    1. Dear Anna and sister, thank you for your great feedback. I like quirky. Stalking is allowed and if I notice you and your sister staring at us in the Bull, then the next round is on Gabrielle and me. FYI, yesterday, I just finished a different kind of book entitled PAN AM about my years flying with the airline and soon I will be starting on KEY WEST, Part III. The Bull of course will be heavily featured.
      If you and your sister have any quirky hilarious anecdotes about Key West that you'd like to share, then please feel free to send them and they just might appear in print.
      Thanks again.
      Keep in touch.
      Jon

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  5. My sister and I visit Key West a few times a year. We're both reading your books while here now. They are funny, quirky and so perfectly describe the Key West we've come to love over the years. Our favorite bar is the Bull as well for the people watching windows and general fun atmosphere. If you see two women staring, it could be us. We've had a great "stalking" the books. Thanks for the fun read! Anna Tampa, FL

    ReplyDelete