Written Words, a blog for readers
Love a mystery? With a woman sleuth?
Enter now to win 21 great books featuring smart female detectives Don’t miss the Authors XP Female Sleuth eBooks + Paperbacks Giveaway, where you could WIN 21 tense mystery novels by exciting authors, including Torn Roots, the first Hawaiian Storm mystery featuring FBI Special Agent Vanessa Storm. Enter by Monday, March 28. Read about Torn […]
If you like getting good books, cheap or free, don’t wait
The prices go up on April 1, 2022. It’s no joke! So don’t put it off any more: choose the cheap and free books you’ve been meaning to get. Why is the sale over? When the COVID-19 pandemic began two years ago, I made my books either free or really cheap, to the lowest price […]
The end is near
I wrote that I will never again say “things can’t get worse.” Because they did, and continue to. COVID-19 cases are increasing again in China, Japan, the U.K. and elsewhere. And the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine grinds on. I find this particularly affecting, as I am married to a Ukrainian-Canadian, and I wrote […]
Things got worse
Last month, I wrote that things couldn’t get much worse after I developed shingles and my father passed away from COVID-19. They did. February brought savage weather and the crybaby convoy that shut down my city for three weeks. Then things got even worse, again. As the last of the detritus of the crybaby convoy […]
I have awesome readers.
Thank you for all the messages, comments and emails of condolence and sympathy. I didn’t expect this response. I shared the story of my father’s passing as a warning, an object lesson about the real dangers of the pandemic and of the wilful ignorance of those who argue against getting vaccinated, and thereby endanger others. […]
Word watch: “Freedom”
Protesters against vaccines in Ottawa are walking on Parliament Hill, screaming “freedom” in a pathetic imitation of Mel Gibson’s overdone portrayal of William Wallace. What does “freedom” mean? It means responsibility. You can do the things you want to do, go where you want, say what you want. It also means you have to take […]
Cold outside, hot inside
Giveaway for Romance Month With Valentine’s Day smack in the middle of the month, February is typically “romance month” for a lot of writers and publishers. I’m joining that train again with a promotion for my hot-n-steamy romantic parody, One Shade of Red. I’m giving away two free e-copies AND a signed paperback, too. Just […]
David T. Reid’s story
My father, David Thomas Reid, died on January 19, 2022, at age 87 of COVID-19. This is a story of his passing. It’s not the only story. It’s told from the perspective two thousand kilometres away, by his son. The story as told by David Reid’s friends much closer to him will be different. But […]
Javor meets the dragon
A Sunday sample from The Children of the Seventh Son He spun back and saw the dragon, more hideous than any he had seen before, and larger than any but one. It stood on four legs, its neck arched like an angry snake. Its back was higher than the second-storey balcony on Javor’s house in […]