An end to looooonnnng winter nights

I have spent parts or all of the past eight winters in England and the winter of 2018 has been the coldest. It has been the snowiest as well as the windiest winter I have experienced here. I live in the highlands of England, so there is very little protection from the winds.

Going outside to walk to town isn’t that bad. Yes, I do walk north right into the winds but it is all downhill, so it can be a very quick walk. It’s the walk home that is the challenge. The wind is at your back, but going uphill it just takes your breath away.

Granted, it is still very mild compared to the winters I lived in while in Nebraska, yet it has still been a shock. This country doesn’t have road graders so the snow stays where it falls, which really isn’t that bad, as even six inches of snow is usually gone within 48 hours. And the sidewalks? They are never shovelled. The belief is that if you shovel them than you accept responsibility for them. So if someone slips on your shovelled walk than you are responsible. If they fall on an sidewalk that is not shovelled than the town is responsible. Again, it is not that big of a deal because the snow is gone pretty fast.

So what’s a person to do in this type of weather? I started remodelling the loft where we live. When it is done, we will have an upstairs living area for a guest room and just a quiet place, where you can sit back and look out the skylights at the stars. When done, I’ll also have a place to play my Native American Flutes.

I also have been doing the finishing touches on the second edition of Damaged Merchandise, which hopefully will be back in print before summer of 2018. Then it will be back to work on War Zone. In the meantime though, between work for money and work around the home for enjoyment I have been playing around with writing a novel. Everything I have written has been about my personal experiences.

This is just a story. A romantic novel. Well, maybe not romantic. My personal belief is that men can’t do romantic novels justice. This is more of an erotic novel – close to pornographic, but not quite. Whether it is erotic or pornographic, I will say that if I ever finish it and try to publish it, it will be done with a pen name.

Not that I’d be embarrassed by it but rather I just don’t want to try and explain it. It’s just a story. A story that I have seen parts of on the movie screen and parts I have seen in real life. A story about what people would do to keep a roof over their heads.

Some folks would get a second job, but what if a second job is unattainable? Maybe they can help the landlord with doing odd work around the property in lieu of rent. Some folks may resort to prostitution or becoming a nude model. In short, doing just about anything to make more money.

That is the premise of this book. Kind of a “Fifty Shades of Gray” with “The Graduate” thrown in. Again, it may never be finished. It’s just been something to pass away the long winter nights in England.

With spring rapidly approaching, this may sit on the back burner till next winter, yet it has been enlightening trying to write something just from watching TV and seeing what people do to make money or do to try and avoid bill collectors.