In the last few weeks Amazon has been all over the media claiming that they are using AI to make their shipping smarter. I am NOT convinced.
I ordered TWO copies each of two of my ‘Bold Coast‘ books. I am all out of books & wanted to take some with me to the Bold Coastnext week. Ordering author copies, though cheaper, takes two weeks. So, I just ordered two each online. {I will get royalties on them so it is not too bad in the end.}
THEY SPLIT THE ORDER.
Two copies were delivered a few minutes ago.
The other two haven’t even SHIPPED!
OK. There is an explanation. Though they are NOT supposed to, Amazon often pre-prints a few copies of each title so that they can ship them faster. So, it is possible that they had these two copies already printed & the other two needed to be printed. That makes some sense.
But, I think it would have been better if they PRINTED ALL FOUR together & did ONE shipment.
My other two outlets in Lubec, i.e., ‘Dockside Treasures‘ & ‘The Eastland Motel‘, already have their copies in hand. They ordered a few months earlier.
This is great. This time last year I only had ONE Bold Coast book. Now there are five.
Very grateful to the three Lubec outlets. They have all been WONDERFUL. I sell more copies in Lubec than I sell online. I am happy. Thank YOU.
The last time I ordered business cards (which were also from ‘VistaPrint’) was a few years ago (maybe 2019 or 2020). I was running out of cards (& I currently only have less than 20) & moreover, they were OUT-OF-DATE.
My old cards say ’30 books & counting’. Well, I am now up to 39.
It also gave me a chance to be HONEST & not give ANY phone number, whatsoever. I do NOT like giving out my phone number. With these cards I don’t even make a pretense. No phone number. SMILE.
Funnily enough I ONLY ended up changing the FRONT of the card. Some of you will recognize the image, viz., West Quoddy Head Light, Lubec, Bold Coast, Maine. I, of course, had to have at least ONE Bold Coast image. And I succeeded. I was going to use a Bold Coast image on the back too but, in the end, reluctantly, changed my mind.
Yes, the image I have (which is the same as that from my old card) could easily pass as one of the Bold Coast — say, the ‘Ridge Trail’ at ‘Moose Cove‘. But, it isn’t. It is from Acadia & from quite a few years ago (& taken with a high-resolution camera). It still works, so I just changed the wording.
I should have the new cards by May 20. So, with luck, I should be armed with them when I next visit the Bold Coast around May 22.
Click to ENLARGE & read here. Link to original at ‘AllTrails‘.
I live on the side of a ‘Prospect Mountain‘. So, when I saw signs to THIS ‘Prospect Mountain’ I had to try it. I am GLAD I did. I first saw the signs for the autoroad — which was CLOSED for the winter. I then Googled it & found the hiking trail.
Wow. The Catwalk was SPECIAL! I know quite a few people who will NOT make it across. Getting to the top of it was quite a climb too — & I like to climb stairs. I was slightly winded. Not much. SMILE.
The trail was GNARLY. Lots & lots of round stones & exposed, raised roots. Yes, of course, you can hike it — & I did, BUT it was no walk in the park. After experiencing this I will never ever, ever even MENTION that the trails on (my) ‘Bold Coast‘ are gnarly. There is gnarly & gnarly, & this trail was up there.
Only met two people in total — one a trail volunteer who gave me much insights. I am so glad I met him.
Started HAILING & snowing a bit. Wasn’t bad. Just made it slippery. Coming down was tricky. Had to concentrate.
The views from the top are SURE worth it. Glad I did it. I enjoyed it.
Contrary to what folks might imagine I do NOT check the REVIEWS I get that often — partly because (to be frank) I don’t get that many. But, every few months or so I do a quick check to see if there are any new ones. That proved to be the case recently when I found two really nice ones that had been left in March 2023.
The first one (at top) just cracked me up. I loved the “some humor tucked in”! She got it. Wow. So, rewarding. Made my week. Makes it all so worthwhile. SMILE.
And then the other one. To be told that the trail details are accurate & the directions spot on. Well, I really do try to be accurate & precise. Nice to know I get it right.
I thank these GOOD PEOPLE for these kind reviews. Means much to I. Thank You.
Another review, this one on Facebook from September 2022.
Click to ENLARGE. The Facebook ‘Maine Hiking’ in PRIVATE. So, I can’t give you a link to anything other than their ‘welcome’ screen.Click to ENLARGE. The Facebook ‘Maine Hiking’ in PRIVATE. So, I can’t give you a link to anything other than their ‘welcome’ screen.
‘Acadia‘, even with this price hike, is still well worth it. As I stress in all of my ‘Bold Coast‘ books, the ‘Acadia Experience‘ is unique & should not be overlooked. While, I am, obviously & of course, very fond of my ‘Bold Coast‘, I fully appreciate that Acadia is a more varied, richer & rewarding experience. I point out that IDEALLY one should do both, i.e., Acadia & Bold Coast. The keyword here being — ‘ideally‘. But, fund, time or both could get in the way.
Acadia is expensive. Earlier this month I, as is my wont, visited both. 3 nights at the Bold Coast cost me about as much as ONE NIGHT in Bar Harbor! And that is the rub.
Yes, there will be Bold Coast residents who will oppose the inevitable uptick in visitors. But, that is going to be inevitable.
I am glad. SMILE. More interest in my books. SMILE.
Click to ENLARGE. Windows 10 Lock screen the last couple of days.
As soon as I saw it I knew it was ‘Downeast‘, Maine. Just had to establish whether it was my ‘Bold Coast‘ or ‘Acadia‘. That wasn’t hard. As soon as I looked closer I knew EXACTLY where it was. It, a decade ago, used to be ‘my’ secret.
‘Ravens Nest‘, close to the start of of the Loop Road, in Acadia’s Schoodic. Because of safety concerns it remains UNMARKED.
I actually included Ravens Nest, with pictures, in my ‘Bold Coast, Maine — Cut to the Chase‘ book (last year). See here … {Left, print edition in b&W. Right, eBook in color. Notice that my 1st picture (on left) is the same view as that of the Lock Screen.}
But, it was cool to see this image, a view I am very familiar with, suddenly appear on my PC. In case you were wondering, I was last there last year (I think). I did go to Schoodic a few weeks ago BUT didn’t do the Loop Road.
Click image to access the YouTube video or use YouTube EMBED below.
The 150 photos stitched together, with music for this 14-minute YouTube video.
Click image to ENLARGE.
Click to ENLARGE. A few of the thumbnails enlarged to show more detail.
This is likely to be a Lubec that most of you have never seen before. Let me show you sights that you are unlikely to see unless you are ambling — a camera in hand. Lubec is a delightful town. I particularly enjoy ambling around Lubec early in the morning & late at night (when everyone else has gone to bed). I see Lubec while the denizens sleep. I get to savor the sounds of nature.
Yes, it is a bit long BUT then again during my 4 days of this my last visit (earlier this month) I walked about 20 miles just within the town boundaries of Lubec. Smile.
Well, if you have the time & inclination, please have a look. I am sure you will enjoy it. I had fun putting together this video.
Yes, of course, I plan to head up again this March. Why break a good, fun, enjoyable trend. But, I am NOT going to be writing a book after this trip. Of that I am 98% certain. Have a FEW books going already — & one that I am really enjoying working on. Plus, I need a break from ‘Bold Coast‘ books. I get jaded. Has, of course, happened with all of my past passions too. But, sometimes, as with popes, I keep on going back.
I just wanted to point out to you that March is a good time to visit the Bold Coast — or more to the point for the FIRST visit to the Bold Coast for the year. SMILE. Yes, I will, of course, go up a few times more before the year is up. Or at least that is the plan.
I don’t keep track & I had no idea UNTIL I had to go looking for the ‘1099’ form to do my taxes. 361 was more than I realized. I am happy.
These are the copies sold by Amazon. It doesn’t include the 40 to 50 author copies I got to distribute to folk. Plus, I might have sold a FEW other eBooks on other platforms.
I am NOT sure what to make of the 361. Yes, of course, I would have liked to have sold more. But, 361 is better than a kick in the teeth. The the title that sold the most, i.e., ‘Cut to the Chase’ only became available as of July 28, 2022 & the next one down, i.e., ‘In Two Days or Less’, as of May 27, 2022. So, neither of them were available for the full season.
Other than the Owner of ‘Dockside Treasures‘ in ‘Lubec‘ who sold a LOT of books I really had no other outlets OR support from anyone. I don’t know the exact numbers but she bought a BUNCH of books DIRECTLY from Amazon because I couldn’t get her author copies quick enough (given the mandatory 2-week DELAY Amazon imposes on author copies to impede us competing against them). It would have been nice if I got some help from folks in Maine but …
C’est la vie. I have already moved on.
I was going to do another Bold CoastAMBLING book & I even started working on it, but I have now lost interest. Working on a whole new theme — & it is not even popes!
Well, it will be Spring soon & we can see if there is continued interest for these books. ‘Dockside Treasures‘, to their credit, already ordered a bunch, which was nice & good. I am glad of that.
Amuses me to see that my ‘Central Pain‘ book sells some — 1 a month. SMILE.
Well, bottom line, as some know, these books don’t even pay for the wine it takes to keep me alive. On average I make LESS than $1 a book, given that on some of the eBooks, the royalty is like 60 cents! Smile. If not for the fact that I have owned a ‘few’ Amazon shares for over a decade I would be yet another starving writer. Smile.
