Douglas Morrison's Blog

It’s that time again. I need to do another blog, and once more, I will fill it with words, without any idea, currently, of what to say.

So, Halloween is approaching, and I should be writing horror, mayhaps, in honour of this time of the year. But just to be contrary, not!!

So instead, I have just published my second book in the future Noir Sci-fi series concerning Johnny Jewel. The first novelette was called Seventeen Words for Rain, so keeping with a theme, this one is called Bullets Dancing in the Rain. Two more stories, one set in the early days, the second as the older, more experienced shark.

Hopefully, you will read this and rush out to obtain it, but more likely, you will forget it two minutes after reading this! 

Anyway, all of you, take care and tune in for the next instalment of my life as a blog!

As a little warning, having a little issue with GR so the book is my 5th book, so just press 5 distinct works under my books section if it is still not there under the main section.

Regards.

Now Little Johnny Jewel, Oh, he's so cool

Hello again all, as usual, I am struggling with what to write about and also the thought, why would you care? Oh, you do? Okay, then I will just write a paragraph or two and hope that entertains?

So, my new short story is out. It is a Classic Noir story set in a Sci-Fi Dystopian world and frankly is rather good as intros to a series go. The reasons being that SCAVENGER kindly edited for me, and so I have an error less book (probably and for the first time ever), so thanks, Scav!!

I have locked her back in the basement where she is currently trying to repair my first Myth & Mythos book, “Back in that basement now Scav!! No food till you fix the manuscript!”

The joy of this book is that I wrote it over four years ago and then abandoned it. In fact, I wrote five and abandoned the sixth. Now I have released the updated version of the first and added a second story just penned (or typed?)

My cunning plan is simple, each month, I will fix up and re-write one of the stories and add a second one set around the same character but back at the beginning of his career, probably. And finally, for the sixth, when it all comes together, I will put it onto paper rather than Ebook, and you will have a twelve-story arc of Johnny Jewel's career!

Now that will be fun but also, Dan the Man dragged me kicking and screaming into Moderating a new Forum around Bizarro and Splatterpunk literature. And so far, it has been a blast, what with the buddy read, group reads, general chat and the writing contest!

This month we have a contest that anyone can enter and put in a short story, it has only been open for three days, and so far, six people, including myself, have thrown a story into the pot. We have many authors on the group/forum, but it has been a mix of authors and interested readers, so that has been fun.

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Anyway, if you get the chance, check out my book or the group/forum.

Final, funny thought for the day…
One of the things I love about GR is the plethora of agendas and interest on the site and the odd argument/spat that flares up.

So some of you might know that the woke crowd are gunning for JK Rowling because they say she is Transphobic. So there has been a few bun fights about that, but poor old JK now has a new threat. The Christain right-wing are blasting for her now and trying to ban her books because they push witchcraft, and the spells actually work!!!!

I am keen to see who takes a pot shot at her next? – The Campaigners to Ban the Letter K from the Alphabet?, the Royal Family cause she has a hero called HARRY Potter?

Anyway, take care!

I am still on a break from writing but will be starting again within a week or two. But I have noticed that GR is like a drug that seduces but destroys you in equal measure. I appreciate this is a strange view and that it is only books, right?!

Okay, so when I joined GR, I had a huge backlog of books to read and an open mind to what I am happy to read, basically anything at least once. Then I joined Kindle Unlimited, and the rot started in, some of it good and some bad.

It started with Carlton Mellick III , who taught me some key and interesting lessons, and what were they, I hear you ask?

First that a book can be any length and type and should always be what you want it to be. Second that there is no taboo, and if there was, then write about it. Finally that, just cause your book seems cute, put a series theme underneath and hammer the audience with it.

To translate, if your book is 100 pages long, so what, go for it. If it involves an insane taboo subject, so what go for it. He also has the blessing of making it funny, which is a lesson that is harder to master.

From him, I discovered Elizabeth Bedlam , short books, check! But subject matter more taboo. Necrophilia seems to be her most oft written about subject from what I have read with a big layer of humour and, as with CMIII, also spotlight the real nature of reality and making us question everything.

From there, I discovered some of the harder drugs, less humorous, more extreme material. Tom Stearns Jenna with its graphic revenge take on child abuse to Daniel Volpe`s Talia with its gory revenge on pornographers. Patterns forming, I see?

Now I have ordered some books by Rayne Havok. Once more, the subjects of Gore and Necrophilia cropping up, this time it seems without the humour again and from this a recommendation on a gory revenge (see the pattern?) on Beastiality.

Where is the end of this long drop, I wonder, and will I get to a book that I don’t enjoy?

Meantime, as for my reviews, and this is the weird bit! Amazon blocked 1 of my reviews. Child abuse, gore, violence, extreme sex are all okay, but my review on the faggiest vampire by CMIII (almost a kids book) is blocked for the use of two words, one of which was used in the context Patti Smith presented it many years ago. The other is in the title of the story.

Without GR, I would not have discovered these authors or read any of them and, in fact, would still be trawling charity shops.

In a conversation on here with Arnab Mukherjee (sure, he won't mind me mentioning his name), he said he respected the fact I was expanding on the types of books I was reading and, in particular, the fact I was interested in both sets of views (In connection with the Arab / Israel conflict). But after looking at this, I suspect I am getting dragged into the Bizarro / extreme horror genre, and I am not sure if there is an escape other than a murder spree?

Final point, Thank God! I hear you cry. My last story was mostly finished, but after all this, it will be a massive re-write, I suspect, as I left the limits behind when I started reading the treasures that GR has to offer.

Sample Reviews

CMIII –
Douglas Morrison’s review of The Faggiest Vampire | Goodreads
Douglas Morrison’s review of Stacking Doll | Goodreads

Elizabeth Bedlam –
Douglas Morrison’s review of Dead When We Met | Goodreads
Douglas Morrison’s review of Lucy the Satanist: A Novella | Goodreads

Tom Stearns –
Douglas Morrison’s review of Jenna | Goodreads

Daniel Volpe –
Douglas Morrison’s review of Talia | Goodreads

Keith Giffen
Douglas Morrison’s review of I Luv Halloween vol. 1 | Goodreads
Douglas Morrison’s review of I Luv Halloween vol. 2 | Goodreads
Final Vol will be up by the end of the day.

Elliot Chaze -
Douglas Morrison’s review of Black Wings Has My Angel | Goodreads

This weekend I took my usual trip down to the village and perused the ongoing library sale and charity shop. The reason I am telling you is that I have a long list of 150 books I don’t have and do want to read.

So anyway, the library sale was interesting. I got a few more books, then the charity shop was a gold mine, the Flashman books, several F1 biographies and even a couple of the greek legends books I was after!

They were all piled up together on one shelf waiting for me, so thank you, God, of book readers, you did a good job!

Next, a little rant to clear the air…

Since no one reads these, I can let rip, so for the first time, let's just let it all out.

Twice in the last few days, I have encountered the following (on this site) as questions mainly when adding friends.

Tell me who your favourite black woman author is and why?
Tell me the last relevant feminist book you have read?
Tell me the last Trans book you enjoyed?

Get the picture?

Frankly, what is this s**t?

This is a site called Goodreads; read a book, enjoy a book (hopefully), review it and move onto the next. My job has all this b*****t creeping into it, but GR too?

I would imagine, like most readers, writers out there, we just want to enjoy/immerse ourselves into the experiences offered by the book. NOT as seems to be suggested again and again recently use it as a platform to check for the political views of the author, or to make sure if they are white they have three coloured friends and a lesbian they are close to.

I don’t have three coloured friends. I have many Jewish friends and a few lesbian friends. I get the sense sometimes that it is okay to look down on the Jewish culture-wise. Still, frankly, that annoys me more than the latest nonsense on Trans and Feminism extremists.

Back on point, who reads a book with a checklist as follows next to them?

Stong Feminist character?
Extra points for coloured or Lesbian?
Trans characters appreciated?
White men put in their place?

So for you lot guilty of this, can you just please read a book based on the following…

Did I enjoy it?

That’s all, nothing more…

Okay, my third blog, with even less to say than normal.

I have managed to read about 30% of all my unread books in the space of two months. Eighty left, and then I will move onto the Kindle as I don’t have the space for the number of books I already have (so the wife tells me!). This is a pity as I prefer paper-based books as electronic formats always feel like they lack soul.

Working on a plan as well to start reviewing books of the other members of GR constantly since a lot of you don’t get a fair crack of the whip when it comes to garnering interest.

Beyond that, I now have two shorts up in GR. The second is from my second book and is (I hope) a mix of poetry and classic literature in style. Anyway, you must be the judge on that.

Enjoy.

Blog

Okay, so I have just spent the last couple of hours gathering blurb to cover a simple fact, the fact that my third volume has just been published!

It has taken me six months, and I have enjoyed it immensely, but now it is finished, and before I start the next, time just for a change, I thought I would broadcast the fact and see what happened?

So Vol III: An Invisibility of Whippoorwills of my Myth & Mythos series, it is almost Horror and possible early Detective and a little bit of Sci-Fi, probably, tbh I can't decide. Leave that to the readers.

Anyway, the big issue is that I cant find it on this site or tie it onto my page, so I have included my Amazon link and the fact that it is free on Kindle Unlimited.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Douglas-Morr...

Finally, if you do decide to read it, positive reviews are always appreciated.

Never written a blog before

Is it like a diary note?

Dear Diary,

Rescued a Wasp today. Tomorrow I will save the universe if I can get my Superman cloak back from the laundry.

Do people still use Laundries often?

Anyway, I suck at Intros; every time I need to do one for a book, it feels like it takes longer to write than the stories held within to complete. Luckily, I have only written two books, so it has not become a major issue yet. Ask me when I have written twenty.

I will move onto ‘Just the facts, Man’, I am putting the final touches to Vol III this weekend, so fingers crossed! Then I have a Sci-fi novel I mostly finished last year to unearth and complete.

So if you have read my previous books, to those few people out there. Well done! Hope it was not too painful? Consider yourself a member of a small elite group. Once I get the hang of self-promotion/advertising, consider your exalted state a thing of the past.