I did mention in my last post, “Glumjoy” (April 17) that my new book of short stories was…almost…available. I provided a link to copies on Amazon, but I did not at that time have any hard copies to distribute at Shavasana Gallery & Café, or in person which seem to be the 3 current strategies of my “Marketing Plan.” Well, the hard copies showed up last weekend and sales were relatively brisk – and already favourable so, I’ve put in a subsequent order for more copies which should be showing up next week.

If you didn’t catch it in my last post, here is the link to Amazon if you’d care to buy a copy online (Note: I haven’t yet created an eBook or an Audio book):

Or, if you are a denizen of Mayne Island, you can wander into my Gallery Café – 457 Village Bay Road – and pick up a copy (when I’m open😆) or contact me directly – 604-418-3846, or, gbathgate@telus.net – and I will mail you a copy, or hand it to you in person (depending on fate and circumstance). The book is $19.95, and runs around 209 pages (100 pages longer than book #1), and I seem to recall it will cost about $5 to have it mailed.

Here’s a little blurb, “About this Book”… “Somewhere Nearby Soon” picks you up from a 1950’s East Van neighbourhood, then immerses you in the “Hitchhiking, Hostels, Hippie Vans & Hair” culture as you make your way across Canada in 1972. Travel overland through Iran and Afghanistan in 1973 – when it was still safe to do so, then let your anxiety spike as you sit in your bureaucratic cubbyhole in Hull, Quebec in the early 80’s. Greet your long overdue epiphany from the back of your Camper Van – as you grab the steering wheel from the captain of the Titanic and steer the ship away from the looming iceberg, towards smoother waters. Without this blessing, it’s unlikely that the subsequent five stories – divided between the quirks of running an art gallery café on a small, charming island, to dealing with the idiosyncrasies of modern urban life in Vancouver – would have come into being, and for this I am immensely grateful.
Add a few tablespoons of sweetener, a dollop of creative non-fiction, a generous helping of self-deprecatory humour, and a teaspoon of fiction for plausible deniability – now toss it all in a blender, turn it on high, and you have “Somewhere Nearby Soon.” Enjoy!”

One other thing I did recently was to – finally – create an eBook for my first book, “All Roads at Any Time” (this proved to be much more difficult and frustrating than I expected with many, many questions and directions from my new friend Chat GPT) here’s the link (only $5.99 for my Kindle loving friends):

So, Georgie hasn’t been idle, and despite completing these two projects, their completion just seems to make room for other overdue projects that have been patiently waiting…will this madness never end? 😱 (don’t answer that🤣)

I love you…buy my book😊

George Bathgate