FREE Book Offer - Serpent's Curse

At some point over the weekend one of you clicked on my author page and “Liked” it. That click brought me to 100 “likes” on my page; not a big number, but a magical one for me. When I first started my page it didn’t seem like I’d ever get to 100; it felt like it might take a year to reach the number. But here I am at 100 “Likes,” and I’m excited by what that means.

To me it’s just a beginning; I hope that I have a thousand soon, and then a million! Why not, right? But today, because I can, I want to take a couple minutes to thank all of you who have taken the time to go to Mark T. Bradbury, Author. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, I thank each of you for helping me launch what I hope will be a career that I can look back on with pride.

I can’t begin to explain how good I feel when I finish a book that I actually like reading one more time. I cherish each of you who have read any of my books and told me just how much you’ve enjoyed them. For an aspiring author, those words mean the world to me! They’re the frosting on my cake, the syrup on my pancakes and the light that shines through the darkness.

My tunnel is getting brighter thanks to my special group of friends and family. That’s each of you, for the record; you’re all much appreciated by me, I assure you. For those of you who haven’t “Liked” my author page, I hope you can find a couple of minutes to become one of the special group that has. Here’s a quick link to my page: 

 https://www.facebook.com/marktbradburyauthor

I recently published a genealogy guide titled “Shaking the Family Tree.” It’s a light “How To” on tracking your family’s roots. It’s available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and iTunes.com. My other two books are available there, as well. Here’s my author link for Amazon.com:
                                           

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1

I’ll be publishing the long-awaited sequel to my first book, Serpent’s Curse, sometime soon. It’s called Serpent’s Return, and my reviewers have told me it’s better than Curse. I personally agree with that assessment; I like it better myself. I think I’m evolving as a writer, as some of my friends have told me.

I want to make the debut of Serpent’s Return something each of you will be looking forward to, but if you haven’t read my first book the new release won’t mean anything to you. So here’s what I’m doing to fix that; here’s a link that will give you access to a PDF copy of my manuscript for Serpent’s Curse, and it’s on me. Read it and enjoy it. It’s FREE!

http://www.cocoabeach.com/bradbury/Serpent%27s-Curse_Mark_T_Bradbury.pdf

Please share this post on your timelines and pass this offer along to your friends and family. I want this to go viral, but I need your help. Feel free to share the link with anyone you’d like, also; keep it going!
 

Thanks again for being so supportive! Have a great week!

Mark                         

Gypsies Wanted for Travel Abroad

I'm just kidding about the Gypsies, at least the ones we grew up hearing stories of. You know the old threat "I'm going to ship you off with the Gypsies when the carnival leaves town;" those are the ones I'm not talking about.

No; I'm looking for the modern-day version. The people who fearlessly pack a few bags and move to another part of the country, or better yet, a different country altogether. I have belonged to the American version for the last twenty years of my life. After spending over forty years of my life in Massachusetts, I picked up and moved to Indiana for a job. That job took me to parts of the country I'd never been in before.

I spent a good deal of time in Texas, which is like being in a different country all by itself. I went from one end of Texas to the other, marveling at the differences throughout that state. From Texas I crossed over into places like Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama. From my office in Indiana, I visited states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Later ventures brought me to the Carolinas, Virginia, Delaware and Georgia. But when I moved to Florida almost twenty years ago, I thought I had found my forever home.

Whether you live here, or are just a tourist once in a while, this state has a lot to offer. If you like mild weather, America's largest coastline (Florida is ranked second behind Alaska, but it's not quite the same) and true diversity, this is a great place to be. Most cities in Florida are rarely more than a two-hour drive from a terrific beach, and outdoor activities are enjoyed year-round. What more could you want, right?

Well, I'm ready for a new adventure. I'm retired, and spend a great deal of time every day on my computer. I write and edit mostly, both of which can be done from anywhere in the world. I've decided to look for a new place to settle (I'm certain that I would have been on a Conestoga wagon 150 years ago moving west, as thousands did); the world is my oyster!

So where am I heading? South; to Ecuador, unless something happens to change my mind. I was sold on the southern part of Portugal, a place called the Algarve Region, until I started investigating more. I've sifted through a ton of information and decided that Ecuador may be the best place for me. The Algarve is beautiful, with spectacular beaches and colonial cities and towns, but I've heard that Portuguese is a difficult language to learn.

I took Spanish in High School, then a year of Intermediate in college. I always did well with it, so it would seem to be a sounder decision to move to a Spanish-speaking country. I've done a complete turnaround in locale; the area I'm looking at is eight thousand feet above sea level in a major valley of the Andes, and is nowhere near the ocean. There are beaches to the west, about three hours away, and hotels there are very inexpensive. The weather? The temps are fifties at night and seventies during the day in the valley; very comfortable! The Pacific Ocean beaches are usually in the 85-90 range; quite tropical.

By now, most of you probably think I'm crazy. I possibly am, but the idea of living in an idyllic setting in a small town nestled between two mountain ranges, whiling away the days writing are very Hemingway-esque, if you know what I mean. I grew up in the hustle-bustle of the great Northeast, where every day is "bang-bang!" When I moved to Florida, I changed all that and slowed my life down. Now, I'm ready to slow it down even more.

For me, the move is an adventure! It's another chance  to explore new places and things, to learn a new language and to make new friends. I'm going to start out in the mountains and see if that takes me back to the ocean, or to another country altogether, perhaps.

I'm signing up for my official "21st Century Gypsy" card and packing up my bags next summer. It's much more advantageous for me to wait until my 65th birthday in August before going to Ecuador, so I'm going to spend the time learning Spanish and getting rid of everything I've collected over the years. That alone will take months!

I'd love to hear from any of you out there who might have some experience or knowledge about Ecuador. Please share your comments with me if you have something to pass on. I'd love to hear from you!

                                    The Central Plaza of Cotacochi, Ecuador

Buenos dias, mi familia y mis amigos! Tenga un buen fin de semana!

For those of you not speaking or learning Spanish, that's "Have a great weekend!"


Mark


Here's a link to my books on Amazon.com. Please take a moment to check them out if you haven't already.

                               http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1

"The only mystery in life is why the kamikaze pilots wore helmets."
             From Al McGuire, Basketball Player, Coach and Commentator with NBC