by Anura Guruge
on July 11, 2023
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From May 20, 2023. See my post.
YES, another shipments of my ‘Bold Coast’ book to ‘Lubec‘, Maine. {Yes, they are selling them in Lubec — & I am delighted.}
I have already talked about this crazy ‘Chelmsford, MA‘ LOOP. Happens every time — without fail. It is STUPID.
I have brought it to Amazon’s attention — but they don’t care.
Well, I am offering you further, irrefutable proof. Check the images. You can see it clearly.
by Anura Guruge
on May 20, 2023
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This is a shipment of 24 of my ‘Bold Coast’ book to ‘Lubec‘, Maine.
Amazon really, really struggles with shipments to this part of Maine. Yes, since Lubec is my PRIMARY outlet for my ‘Bold Coast’ books I ship a fair amount of books to Lubec from Amazon. In 2-years I have YET to have a shipment get there without a DELAY.
This to-and-from ‘Chelmsford, MA‘ LOOP that resulted in one day being LOST is easy to see. No explanation. Just PLAN STUPID. ‘Nashua, NH‘ is just 20-miles north of Chelmsford. So, it crosses state lines, goes to another city & comes back. This is NOT AI. This is STUPIDITY.
I spoke to Amazon about this. They acknowledged that they have a problem. Stupid.
Another example of Amazon shipping stupidity.
Yet ANOTHER example!
In the last few months Amazon has been all over the media claiming that they are using AI to make their shipping smarter.
Here are actual examples showing how it has FAILED —
& FAILED BADLY.
by Anura Guruge
on June 5, 2023
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It was unexpected. I do belong to that Facebook group. I check them out a few times a day to see what is happening in Maine. Saw this, to my DELIGHT, last night. Made my day. SMILE. After all these years & all those books, I still get a kick to see that people like one of my books. Makes it all worthwhile.
Yes, I am NOW planning to write another AMBLING GUIDE though this one will NOT be for the ‘Bold Coast‘. North of it. SMILE. Must get another book published & that is going to take another 4 months. SMILE.
by Anura Guruge
on May 29, 2023
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‘Race Point‘, at the very top of ‘Crow Neck’ in ‘Lubec‘, is yet another well-appointed (e.g., picnic facilities, apples in fall), immaculately maintained & scenically delightful ‘Cobscook Shores‘ park. As you can see from my map above it is on the other side of ‘Reversing Falls’. So, as I illustrate in the first grouping of photos above, you can see the ‘falls’ from here. But, you are much further away from the ‘falls’ compared to the main Park (on the other side). So, Race Point is not a substitute for visiting the main Park (though getting there can be a bit of a ‘hike’ (even by car)). You can only truly experience, enjoy & marvel the awesome power & mesmerizing beauty of the ‘falls’ from the Park. For a start, the thundering sound of the ‘falls’ is muted at Race Point.
That said, Race Point is definitely worth visiting — even on a regular basis.
I have visited/hiked it, at least 5 times, since October 22. I have only encountered others once — & that was in the car park. The trails have been deserted — just the way I like them. The ‘Reversing Falls Trail’, which hugs the coastline is my favorite & I invariably scramble down to the rocks/beach. It is a wonderful — relaxing & rewarding — amble. The grassy meadow is another treat. When I was there last October I helped myself to some delicious apples.
So, the next time you are in Lubec & fancy a nice, little amble, head to Race Point. You ill not be disappointed.
by Anura Guruge
on May 20, 2023
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1st example from just 3 days ago!
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 Coast next 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.
by Anura Guruge
on May 18, 2023
Click images to ENLARGE.
These 50 going to ‘The Inn of the Wharf‘ in Lubec.
The book for sales in their gift shop last year.
I don’t get a chance to see this many of my books, stacked high in one place, that often. Kind of nice. Gratifying.
I will be delivering these 50 to Lubec next week.
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.
by Anura Guruge
on May 16, 2023
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Yikes! NOT good news, certainly not for I.
To be honest I am not that bothered by a drop in my book royalties — mainly because I don’t make that much! SMILE. Kind of sour grapes.
But, NOT making anything from the sale of a paperback, i.e., ZERO ROYALTIES, just seems WRONG. Like a slap in the face. KDP, to its credit, did provide me, via a spreadsheet, a list of all my book that will fall into this dreaded ZERO ROYALTY category. I have no choice BUT to raise the prices. YIKES. And I am SORRY, very sorry.
This price increase, ALAS, also hits my ‘Bold Coast‘ books. Unlike my other books I do sell the ‘Bold Coast‘ books to outlets (i.e., gift shops & motels) so they can resell them. Now I will have to increase, ALBEIT NOT BY MUCH, what I charge them. They in turn will have to increase the prices they charge. Yes, overall, less books will be sold. DAMN! Not happy. Sad day. This did make me kind of sad.
My ‘Bold Coast’ books.
38 of my 39 Published Books.
by Anura Guruge
on May 7, 2023
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.
I also wanted to highlight my NEW Website: guruge.com (& this blog, i.e., guruge.com/blog).
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.
by Anura Guruge
on April 22, 2023
Click images to ENLARGE.
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.
by Anura Guruge
on April 3, 2023
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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.
My 5 ‘Bold Coast, Maine’ books.
