Big Fish/Little Pond

Did anybody see what happened to 2013? I know it's got to be somewhere close, but I can't seem to find it. Maybe my advancing age, or my diminished eyesight (you thought I was going to say my diminished wits, didn't you?), one or the other, or possibly both, are responsible for this year flying by me while I attempted to hold my ground. As a youth and young adult, I used to listen to grey-haired people tell me how the years would fly by as you got older, but for most of my life I didn't pay attention. I thought it incredibly ironic that the people with the most time on their hands were the ones who complained about how it flew by faster every year!

I always thought it was funny that they would say this. When you're in your 20's, 30's or 40's there's always lots of time to enjoy Life. You get out of school or the service, get a job, meet somebody special, get married (or not), buy a house, have kids, and on and on. Long days at work made you yearn for the weekend, which seemed like it was a month away. You thought your kids were going to stay babies forever; you counted the weeks and months it took them to crawl, to stand, to talk that first beautiful word, or to get that first tooth. It all seemed to take forever back then, didn't it?

But those days are gone for me. Now I look back and try to remember everything from those days, and I seem to hit blank spots. I tell myself it's because that was so long ago it takes my brain longer to pull up the information. It seems my hard drive's just about full, and I'm not able to download as much as I used to. So here's a little exercise we AARP members can all do to recover some of those youthful moments.

Take your shoes off, go to the middle of the most open room you have and close your eyes. Take three large cleansing breath's and start to move in a circular fashion (there's no right or wrong, here; clockwise or not, doesn't matter). Go ahead, put your arms out, too, and pretend you're flying. When you've completed your first circle, repeat, going faster this time. Continue doing this until you fall squarely on your butt; that's it, you're done. If this exercise doesn't crack you up and make you feel younger, you need to check your pulse to see if you actually have one.

Because you've rocketed yourself back to your more youthful days, you get the added benefit of having memories come flooding back to you from when you were a kid, when the world turned so much slower. You'll remember some of the great moments of your life as they flash before your eyes. Time will slow down for a while as you reach back, and you'll be able to enjoy it more.

Don't get me wrong, though. This isn't a cure for getting old, it's just a way to recapture some of your youth for a few minutes. But wait, it could be a cure for getting old, couldn't it? It's said that the key to staying young is feeding your inner child, and I feed mine whenever I can. Go listen to some old rock-and-roll and crank it up like you used to, go for a roller coaster ride, the new ones where you go upside-down and all around, take your spouse or special life partner out to the woods and go parking; you get the idea. Make up your own as you go along; take yourself back to the days of yore!

And most importantly, pass this on to anybody you speak to in the next few days who complains about 2013 disappearing, and that the years fly by faster as you get older. Maybe they do, but you can slow them down a bit if you want to. Have you taken your shoes off yet?

Happy New Year everybody!

I'm hoping 2014 is the longest year of my life! Please be safe over the New Year's holiday.

 

Mark T. Bradbury, Author

Literary Associate of Little Pond Publishing

Digital Publisher | eBooks | Marketing

For information on my new eBook, Serpent's Curse, please follow the link:

http://littlepondpublishing.com/book-titles/serpents-curse-by-mark-t-bradbury/

Big Fish/Little Pond

It's almost Christmas, and New Year's Day is just around the corner, so I've been thinking it would be a good time to launch my 1st Annual Thoughts of the Day list. Everyone tells you that it's the "thought that counts", so let's see if we have any mutual feelings.

Sometimes progress isn't what it's cracked up to be. Since I just moved a few months ago, I've had endless opportunities to converse with the automated response options of so many large companies that we all do business with. These companies have taken the "human element" out of their service departments by installing computerized answering systems.

Raise your hand if you've called your cable company, cell phone service, or electric supplier expecting help from a friendly voice, only to have to "speak" to a computer voice. The voice asks you all sorts of questions, many times asking you to repeat your answer because it doesn't quite understand the nuance of real language. Just when you think you're going to be transferred to an actual person, the voice switches you over to another voice, with more questions and further confusion. When you finally stand up to the voice and indicate that you want to speak to a human representative, it puts you on hold and tells you "all personnel are busy handling other inquiries. Wait time is 15-20 minutes. Don't hang up, or you'll lose your place". In the back of your mind you know the voices are all laughing at you as they put you on hold and force you to listen to terrible music streaming straight from some 1970's-era elevator.

        1) Here's my first thought. To all the businesses that employ these voice systems, you get 20 lumps of coal in your stockings, or more, if it fits! How about you actually offer service, instead of "lip service?" Be the first on your block to hire real people to speak to your customers, like it used to be. Make your customers feel better about doing business with your company.

        2) And my second; if, after all of the above, you have the audacity to have another computer voice ask us to stay on the line to do a quick survey about how well you think you're doing, you get a truckload of coal delivered to one of your local call centers.

        3) While I'm on the big companies and their practices, why not mention the difficulty we encounter when we want to call the company in the first place. They don't want you to call them, so they don't list a phone number, just an email or a live chat room. What about us old-timers who just want to talk? Please list your phone numbers for service calls, or you won't be getting that new toy under the tree you've been wanting.

Okay, enough grumbling, how about some nice thoughts? Well, here's a few:
        
          4) Family and friends are what this time of year is all about, so take the time to touch everyone close to you. It really is the thought that counts!

          5) Enjoy the innocence of youth, and savor the wisdom of age. One is free, and the other is earned over a lifetime, but both are precious commodities.Remember, Santa is a very old man for a very good reason.

          6) Stay focused on everything good in your life, and try not to spend any time fretting over what you can't control, or what you don't have. Each of us only has so much energy; try to stay away from the negative and reinforce the positive. This is the most difficult thing for me sometimes, but I keep trying.

          7) How about them Red Sox? I know; not all of you are Red Sox fans, but humor me for at least 10 seconds. Now, doesn't that feel good?

          8) Here's an old one - Respect other people! Not everyone you come across is an idiot; you might even like them if you give them a chance! And Santa will definitely feel better about loading you up next week!

          9) To all my fishing and hunting friends, may 2014 bring you the trophy you've always wanted. Enjoy the outdoors, but protect it and keep it pristine for our grandchildren. That's on all of us; don't let them down!

         10) Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men, Women and Children (updated to 2013). I hope you all enjoy your holidays! Merry Christmas everyone!
       

Mark T. Bradbury, Author

Literary Associate of Little Pond Publishing

Digital Publisher | eBooks | Marketing

For information on my new eBook, Serpent's Curse, please follow the link:

http://littlepondpublishing.com/book-titles/serpents-curse-by-mark-t-bradbury/

Big Fish/Little Pond

Forty-nine degrees! As in, it's 79 right now in Sebastian, Florida, at my home. It's 30 in Taunton, Massachusetts, where I'll be flying tomorrow. Tell me again how you like the seasons up there, will you? And please don't tell me the leaves are beautiful in the fall (I used to rake a half-acre full of dead leaves every fall, and it wasn't that much fun), or that you love the snow (I do, too, when it's on TV. I personally experienced snow for 43 years, and I can tell you that driving down here in a rainstorm is a lot less life-threatening than trying to get to the office before your meeting when the snow is blowing straight from Hell!).

When I lived in Newburyport, Massachusetts, before I moved to Florida eighteen years ago, I used to love to count the cars off the road on I-95 during our first snow of the year. The same idiots who flew past you doing sixty in their 4-wheel drive SUV's were the ones you'd see in the ditch, or up against a guardrail, just a few miles down the road. I always kept count; it was just a personal thing to retell later at the office. The number was always about the same; 15-20 vehicles, every year, during the first snowstorm.

Crazy, right? Newburyport is in the northeastern corner of Massachusetts, north of Boston. Back then, my trip was about 20 miles on I-95, so I averaged about one wacko per mile (give or take a little). Every year! What's even funnier is that a majority of these wrecked vehicles were from Maine (thus the title of "Maineiacs"). It's as if living in Maine, a decidedly cold place, protected them from going off the road in snow. I drove a 4-wheel drive Jeep, but I stayed at a safe pace and left early. Not the Maineiacs! It was "pedal to the metal" all the way until they hit the hidden ice patch.

Why would I want to fly into this hellishly frigid place when it's so pleasant here in Florida? For the same reason that so many of us do the unthinkable; it's for family. My mother passed away last week after suffering from complications that developed after hip replacement surgery. The surgery was successful, but she had to be placed in a nursing home for her rehab. There was no way my 84-year old father could take care of her, so there wasn't really an option. She hated it there; not because it was a bad place, but during her entire lifetime, all my mother ever wanted was to be in her own home surrounded by her family.

The sight of people sitting around waiting to die (God's waiting room came to mind on my visits) was probably too much for her to handle. It was a depressing place, but my Dad and my sister Jane went to visit her every single day, and were there with her when she peacefully passed on. The rest of us went there when we could, but we all wish it was for a little longer, and under better conditions. We will all miss her dearly.

And so, my friends, I'll be flying into the cold North tomorrow with a heavy heart. Honestly, I would go through anything to be with my family for the next few days. I'll see aunts and uncles, cousins and old friends that I haven't seen for years, and we'll get to catch up with each others lives. We'll talk about the old days, tell some good stories and probably some bad, but in the end, we'll all be together to celebrate the life of a woman dear to us all.

It's been said that I got my personality and my sense of humor from her, and for that I'm very grateful. She was a lot of fun, and had a great smile. She was an "old-fashioned lady" who everybody loved to be around, so it will be very difficult to say goodbye for the final time, but Life helps us all move on. Her memory will always be in my heart. I'll see you on the other side, Mom!

Mark T. Bradbury, Author

Literary Associate of Little Pond Publishing

Digital Publisher | eBooks | Marketing

For information on my new eBook, Serpent's Curse, please follow the link:

http://littlepondpublishing.com/book-titles/serpents-curse-by-mark-t-bradbury/

Big Fish/Little Pond

Black Friday? Hell no!

Pardon me if I didn't get up early this morning to go shopping. It's just not in my blood. The mere idea of getting up early on a day off is bad enough all by itself, but getting up to go shopping? Sorry, I know I'm missing the point, but you won't see me elbowing anyone in any store any time soon.

I saw a great photo in Facebook this morning. A friend of mine, who always tends to live on the sarcastic side of the street, had posted it. It was a Black Friday shopping photo, with people pushing and shoving each other to get in the doors of whatever store it was. It was the caption that brought a smile to my face (and I'm certain to many others). The overlaid words inscribed on the photo: "Black Friday - When people trample others for cheap goods mere hours after being thankful for what they already have."

Another Facebook favorite this morning was from TakeMeFishing.org, showing 2 men in a boat fishing. The caption read "I'd rather cast a line than stand in a line." Turn Black Friday into Fishing Friday; another great idea I could get on board with.


You have to love these if you're a stay-at-home guy like me who wouldn't go out to any store today. It's emblematic of what our lives have become; the world keeps spinning faster and crazier, and you best hold on for the ride if you want to keep up. Thankful yesterday; crazy as hell today. It seems to work for many; personally, I'm staying home to write this story.

On a more serious note, I hope that each of you had a wonderful day on Thanksgiving. It's a terrific day to come together with family and  friends, both old and new, to enjoy the bounty that most of us are privy to throughout the year, but don't stop to say thanks for each day. Thanksgiving is non-denominational; you can be of any religious persuasion (or not) and still thank whoever or whatever you believe in for what you have. But most of all, it's a day that brings people of all religions, races and creeds together to share their time, their food, friendship and love; it is a unique day in that sense for most Americans.

It's a day to welcome the new to our table, and to remember those who are no longer with us. My youngest daughter Kerrin had a beautiful baby boy earlier this year. Bradley was at the family Thanksgiving table this year, while my mother was spending the day in a nursing home. She was put on Hospice Care this week; only time will tell the remainder of her story here with us. I'm most thankful for her lifetime of devotion to all of us in my family; she will always have a place at our table.

But back to Black Friday; here's my idea, for what it's worth. I say the stores just have ridiculous prices every day, year-round. Give us everything we could possibly want for next to nothing, and all this craziness will go away. You could only stock a small handful of these blowout deals (you know, just like you do on Black Friday), and people wouldn't all have to go nuts on the same day every year. People could just spend Thanksgiving weekend like they always did; putting up the Christmas or Hanukkah decorations, watching football, eating leftovers and savoring the time spent with loved ones.

Oh hell, my cell phone just rang; it was Wal-Mart telling me my prescription's ready. I guess I'll go pick it up; maybe I'll even look around. Does anyone know where I left my helmet and pads?

Mark T. Bradbury, Author

Literary Associate of Little Pond Publishing

Digital Publisher | eBooks | Marketing

For information on my new eBook, Serpent's Curse, please follow the link:

http://littlepondpublishing.com/book-titles/serpents-curse-by-mark-t-bradbury/

Big Fish/Little Pond

WRITERS WANTED!  This is a heads up for any authors out there, both published or just starting out.

My publisher, Little Pond Publishing, currently has two contests running. For those of you who have a fictional work involving murder, mystery or romance there's a contest called "Autumn Tales," and for those of you who write children's stories or poems there's a separate competition called "Tattle Tales." Each of them offers a $1500. digital eBook publishing package to the winner.

This is a terrific opportunity for those of you who would like to have your book published as an eBook. Even if you've published your book in print, you may still be eligible for this event. As long as you have the rights to publish your work digitally, you can qualify.

But there's not a lot of time left to submit your entries. November 28th is the deadline for submission; contest winners will be announced on January 1st. Please visit the Little Pond website for more information at: www.littlepondpublishing.com.

Mark T. Bradbury, Author

Literary Associate of Little Pond Publishing

Digital Publisher | eBooks | Marketing

For information on my new eBook, Serpent's Curse, please follow the link:

http://littlepondpublishing.com/book-titles/serpents-curse-by-mark-t-bradbury/

Big Fish/Little Pond

Today being Veteran's Day, I'd like to start off by thanking every man and woman who has worn the uniform of one of our nation's service branches. We extend our gratitude to not only the living, but to the memory of everyone who has passed on, either through military conflict or just Life's natural causes. We salute you all! Thank you for your service!

If you've read my blog before, you've probably figured out that I'm a Red Sox fan. It already seems like a month has passed since the Sox won the World Series, but in reality, it's only been a week and a half. What can I say? I'm a baseball junkie! I missed watching them play on Thursday, the day after they won it all; I didn't sit around waiting for a few weeks to go by to start whining.

You didn't need to be a card-carrying member of Red Sox Nation to enjoy the Series this year. The Cardinals and Red Sox played a terrific series, one of the best in a while. Millions of people all over the world watched the games and heard about the amazing last-to-first Sox; they learned everything there was to know about the "chemistry" that General Manager Ben Cherington had created with a terrific mix of veterans, free agents and some rookies thrown in for good measure.

Chemistry. It's a great word, isn't it? It can be used in multiple contexts, but the team chemistry of this group was what everyone was talking about; it was their insane camaraderie that kept them going from the start of the season way back in April. It was as they say in Boston "a wicked fun ride."

I remember when I got a chemistry set for Christmas. This was way back before video games and tablets dominated youthful interests; I might even remember seeing dinosaurs around that time, that's how far back I go with this story. Some of my friends got a set, too, and before long we were learning how to make gunpowder and blowing things up. No, I'm not talking buildings, trucks or cars; just some stupid little things we'd find sitting around the old trash barrel behind the house. Although I do remember blowing up a big, fat, juicy tomato one time; man, did that make a mess!

But, I digress; sorry. We were talking about the Red Sox and all that incredible chemistry, weren't we?

It's Hot Stove time now; a time when we sit back every year and see what our favorite team is going to do to make the team better than it was last year. Will they improve by signing free agents, making big trades, or maybe just handing over a critical position to an untested rookie? It's all part of the fun; it's what we baseball junkies live for all winter long until we see TV reports of pitchers and catchers in Spring Training throwing baseballs around again.

The General Managers' Annual Meetings commenced today in Orlando, Florida. It's the start of the offseason action; big things will start to happen very soon. Players will sign with new teams, trades will be discussed and maybe even completed, and we'll all begin to see what our team will look like for 2014.

A few of the same people who were saying what an incredible year they had playing in Boston just a week ago have made it clear they're looking for a big payday, and are testing the waters of free agency. They'll be gone soon, and the chemistry they shared with each of their teammates, coaches and Manager John Farrell will disappear with them. We'll have new players to cheer for and follow, but it won't be the 2013 Boston Red Sox. This was a very special group, and I am only one of thousands who will never forget this team.

Mark T. Bradbury, Author

Literary Associate of Little Pond Publishing

Digital Publisher | eBooks | Marketing

For information on my new eBook, Serpent's Curse, please follow the link:

http://littlepondpublishing.com/book-titles/serpents-curse-by-mark-t-bradbury/

Big Fish/Little Pond

Remember when you could trust the people you did business with? When you knew the local owner because he lived down the street and his kids played ball with yours? Today, large franchise companies put themselves in a position that almost guarantees that they'll make a great profit from doing business with all of us by eliminating their competition. Sadly, the "mom & pop" businesses that built our great country have mostly disappeared. They're unable to compete with these franchise store businesses because they've been priced out of the market. 

That would be okay if we all benefited from it; it would just be chalked up to "progress." Unfortunately, once these companies have established themselves as the only game in town, things change. Their prices go up because we don't even notice; they convinced us long ago that they were the cheapest and now we take it for granted. Because a store is part of a big chain, we assume that their pricing will always be the best, but it's not.

 Saturday afternoon my partner Joan and I went grocery shopping. After fighting the crowd for an hour (Saturday afternoon, Joan reminded me, is not when you should go to a Wal-Mart Super Store), we finally got out of there and loaded our groceries into my vehicle. We headed for home, but after about a mile I noticed steam coming from the front of my Explorer. I turned around and headed for the nearest auto repair shop I could get to.

I didn't have time to shop as the smoke poured out from under my hood, so the shop I pulled into was one of the many tire store chains that advertise themselves as service centers. After an inspection by a service tech, I was told that the parts for my car needed to come from a Ford dealer, and I'd have to leave the vehicle there for the weekend. I was given a "rough estimate" of around $400, maybe less.

It certainly put a damper on my weekend. No wheels and a big repair bill; how much fun is that?

This morning I received a cheery call from the tire store. The work was now going to cost me $728, and would I like them to get started? After extracting my head from the ceiling tiles, I flatly told him no. I called my regular service shop, owned by a local guy with a superior reputation. After telling him what was wrong, he did some research and called me back. "I'll get this fixed for $500, or less, if you can get it here." I got it there two hours later.

But here's the good part: when I called the tire store to tell them someone would be picking my Explorer up in an hour, my price started dropping. I no longer needed a coolant flush, etc., which was part of the originally inflated estimate; "we can do this for $546 instead. Would you reconsider leaving it?"

What do you think I told him? Yeah, you probably figured it out. Support your local small businesses; they're your neighbors. 

Mark T. Bradbury lives on the central east coast of Florida after growing up in Massachusetts. Now, after nearly twenty years, he considers Florida his home ground, but his New England roots are still very much alive. He works in the publishing business and also writes; he's the author of an eBook called "Serpent's Curse," an action-adventure set in Florida and Mexico. To purchase his book go to:

          http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G9I8MEI
          https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/serpents-curse/id727826815?mt=11
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/serpents-curse-mark-t-bradbury/1117054863?ean=2940148783268

If you didn't live here in Florida, you'd probably think that it's not easy being a Red Sox fan. Tampa Bay Rays and Yankee fans are everywhere you go, or so it seems. Yankees and Rays, and, believe it or not, even some Florida Marlins gear, dots the Florida landscape.

But, hey, guess what? The hat you see the most down here is the big "B" we all love so much. That's right; Boston Red Sox caps and shirts seem to be omnipresent, especially since the beginning of the playoffs. Every time I venture forth I run into someone wearing a Sox cap or t-shirt; it's always enough for me to start a friendly conversation. I never let the opportunity to chat up the Sox (or even the Pats or Bruins) with somebody from New England, or anywhere else, for that matter.

Yesterday I was out and went into a restaurant wearing a Red Sox polo shirt my sister had given me a few years ago; it's definitely my favorite! A young girl, maybe 16, at the counter loudly proclaimed "hey go Red Sox!" Thinking she must have just moved here from the Boston area, I asked her where she was from. "Oh, I'm from Palm Bay, right down the road," she claimed. Pushing it a little harder I asked if she was originally from New England.

"No, I was born in Miami. But my Dad is from somewhere up there, and all I know is that I've grown up following the Red Sox. It's his favorite team". Well, there it was; the link. She probably has no idea whatsoever that she's a member of a special sisterhood/brotherhood of Red Sox fans throughout this country and the world. A group that's called Red Sox Nation, a group of people who love and follow the Sox no matter what, and no matter where they go.

Red Sox Nation is very alive and well in Florida. There are thousands of us scattered across this state, and today we're as proud and excited about our team as anybody in Boston or across New England. The World Series that was wrapped up last night was an incredible thrill ride for all of us; a ride that many of us got on in March at Spring Training, and we rode that wave through the entire season. What a trip!

The 2013 Boston Red Sox deserve a tremendous amount of respect for what they accomplished this year; they were undoubtedly the best team in baseball. They led the AL East at the end of every month from April to September, and finished tied for the best record in the Major Leagues with St. Louis, the great team that they defeated last night.

I tip my cap with the big "B" on it to the Boston Red Sox, and I'm sure that I speak for all of us here in Florida's Red Sox Nation when I say "Can't wait til next year!"

Mark T. Bradbury lives on the central east coast of Florida after growing up in Massachusetts. Now, after nearly twenty years, he considers Florida his home ground, but his New England roots are still very much alive. He works in the publishing business and also writes; he's the author of an eBook called "Serpent's Curse," an action-adventure set in Florida and Mexico. To purchase his book go to:

          http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G9I8MEI
          https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/serpents-curse/id727826815?mt=11
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/serpents-curse-mark-t-bradbury/1117054863?ean=2940148783268
       

Big Fish/Little Pond

If you hold on tight and close your eyes, technology can take you to places you've never been before. Like right into the 21st century, as scary as that may seem! I amaze myself on a regular basis by how much technology I've assimilated into my daily routine; I do things that I didn't see myself doing just last week, or even yesterday, and I remind myself that I'm still capable of grasping concepts I was afraid to take on not so long ago.

For many of us over 50, and particularly more so for those of us over 60, technology is something we tell our friends about. It's not always a personal experience. I hear friends talk about how their grandkids have been using computers and tablets, even iPads, as early as 3 years old (some even sooner). They wouldn't touch an iPad on their life, because, well, it's just too advanced for them. Huh?

It's called "Fear of the Unknown," and we all are sometimes too quick to embrace the excuse. But you know what? It's no different than jumping in the pool that first time many years ago; you just have to learn to swim and you're fine forever. So, I encourage you all to take the leap into the "ePool;" it's deep, and sometimes dark, but it's worth the effort.

I sat with a client yesterday who was in his 50's. He asked what was new, and I told him about my new eBook, Serpent's Curse, which is now up for sale on BarnesandNoble.com (check it out at :http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/serpents-curse-mark-t-bradbury/1117054863?ean=2940148783268). When I told him it was an eBook, he told me he didn't have a tablet or iPad to read it, but that he'd be happy to pass the info on to his Mother and the rest of his family, since they all read eBooks. He went on to tell me about a family event he attended the weekend before where everybody there, his Mother, sister, brothers, kids, etc., were all using iPads throughout the weekend. He was embarrassed to admit that he has a dose of "Fear of the Unknown," and hasn't purchased an iPad because of it.

I laughed, and gave him my own rendition. Two months ago, I signed a 2 year contract for satellite service with DishTV. Prior to that, I had been happy to live out my years without an iPad or tablet, computer watch or glasses, and all the rest of the products bombarding us every day. But Dish had a special offer; if you agreed to pay the regular monthly price for the first year, they'd give you a brand new iPad2. I went for the deal, since my work with Little Pond Publishing, a digital eBook publisher, required the use of a tablet to demonstrate how eBooks work.

My iPad has now become part of my personal and business life, more so, it seems, every day. I read my book on it and totally enjoyed the ease of operation. Online Skype conference calls, checking emails, texting and watching live TV (thanks to the Dish technology) are all now common occurrences. I love it!

So, don't make your 80 year old mother make you look bad, Boomers! Toughen up and take the leap; you can do it.

Big Fish/Little Pond

Hi, I just got back from Lake Charles, LA, where I spent several days at the Southeast Outdoor Press Association's (SEOPA) annual conference. It was my first opportunity to attend a writers and communicators event, and I have to say that it was a great time. The members of SEOPA are some of the friendliest people I've ever worked with; they truly are a fraternity/sorority of like-minded individuals, and they like to have fun! Great food, music and Cajun hospitality were in abundance, and were much appreciated by all of us present.

I had the chance to attend several great seminars on media happenings and publishing, both print and digital. What I discovered is that most of the writers attending have something they'd like to publish, and need some assistance getting started with digital eBooks. My company, Little Pond Publishing, offers so many options for authors that it seems like we are a great fit for many of the people we met with throughout the week. Building long lasting relationships with the members of SEOPA is something we look forward to doing soon.

On a more personal note, my new book, Serpent's Curse, should be up for sale on the biggest online bookstores, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and iTunes.com very soon, hopefully by the end of next week. I'm getting more excited about this happening with each passing day. I hope you'll check it out when it becomes available; everybody needs to have the hair on their arms stand up a little once in a while!

If you do get to read it, please let me know what you think; I've got a sequel beginning to take shape in the darker corners of my mind.

Happy Halloween and see you next time!

Big Fish/Little Pond

Hi, I'm Mark Bradbury, a transplanted New Englander, thriving amongst the palm trees, the endless summer and the strange creatures that share my space here in the southernmost state of Florida. I've been here for almost twenty years, and yes, you can get used to it if you stop complaining about the heat and start enjoying it. I traded my snow shovel and winter boots for a fishing rod and sandals, and I've never looked back.

Something else I discovered about Florida was the fact that thousands of people come here every year, hoping to start a new life. A life less complicated, and certainly void of much of the stress of life in the Northeast. I not only started a new life when I got here, but I've continued to take on new challenges, quite often, in fact, and I've enjoyed them all.

In 2008 I got involved with a local fishing magazine called Coastal Angler Magazine. At the time, it was a regional publication covering the central east coast of Florida. I bought a franchise, and launched the beginning of a fantasy I had since college, writing articles, and for my own magazine, no less! I went on to writing travel and entertainment stories for both my regional insert and also for the National section of our monthly magazine. Coastal Angler Magazine grew to be one of the largest outdoor magazines in the country, and I got to wear a lot of hats, but my favorite job of all was writing.

Once the bug bit me there was no stopping me. I'd write anything; fishing stories, travel pieces, recipes, restaurant reviews, it didn't really matter. Two years ago I sat down in front of my computer and started to write a book that had been bouncing around in my head for at least ten years.

I had settled in a part of Florida called the Treasure Coast, a reference to a group of Spanish galleons that shipwrecked along the shallow reefs of the coastline nearby. The fleet was called the "1715 Plate Fleet." The ships had all wrecked during a ferocious hurricane that came up on them while they were on the way to bring King Felipe' of Spain a treasure so vast it's been said to be the richest horde ever assembled. That got my attention!

I also have had the opportunity to travel in the Yucatan section of Mexico, an area that was home to one of the ancient world's great civilizations, the Mayas. It's hard not to be overwhelmed by the creations of a supposedly savage tribe living in the jungles of Central America hundreds of years ago.

After a couple of rewrites, I'm about to have my first book published as an eBook. Friends of mine had started a digital publishing company called Little Pond Publishing, and they invited me to join their team a couple months ago. We're a digital publisher, and our job is to convert printed text into several different digital formats, the culmination being to publish eBooks on all of the major online booksellers. So, if you've got a story to tell....

My book, Serpent's Curse, is a combination of my fascination with and love for both treasure hunting and the incredible Mayas. I've taken pages from my own explorations in Mexico and mixed them in with some real events to come up with an adventure I hope people will enjoy.

But be warned; it's not for the weak at heart. It's not a love story, and it's not warm and fuzzy. Starting with the bloody sacrifice of a young Mayan prince, continuing with gruesome events surrounding the eighteenth century Spanish explorations in the Yucatan in search of gold and silver, and emerging as a modern-day horror story, Serpent's Curse may make you feel differently about swimming in strange places, or give you a little chill the next time you see a snake in your garden. Enjoy!

Look for Serpent's Curse on iTunes, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com very soon. I truly hope you'll like reading it as much as I did writing it.