Erm, Have I mentioned Melvin The Hairy Frog??

Okay so it's been a while that our Green Hero has made it to this setting.

So, without further ado, please feel free to have a look at the video I created. Here's the video

Please anjoy and let me know what you think of it?

Family visits

My cousin Jessie and her youngest daughter, Jenna, came to visit today. It was great to catch up over a few hours of chat, laughs and memories.

It's Jessie's birthday tomorrow and I cannot believe it's been 'that many years' since I held her in my arms as a young lad myself... She was only a couple of days old and just been sent home from the maternity unit in Gibraltar.

All these decades later, we remain tight and closer than ever in our exile in the East of England... Self exile BTW.

She is the mother to two wonderful young ladies, Anya and Jenna.
It's hard to accept the 'little ones' are in their teens now. They were my 'testing crowd' for my material. Little jokes, stories and magic tricks I'd put them through (sorry girls).
Julie and I honed our grandparenting skills on them. Although not officially our grandkids, we treated them like they were. Taking them to places, testing our pram skills and enjoying every minute with them.

They are too old to stay at our house now, like they used to.. It's not hip. We used to lie in bed and make up stories, adding bits to the story line as we went along until the story was no longer what it set out as... Like a story line chinese whispers.
However, should they need to, they are always welcome.

They are great kids and have wonderful parents in Jessie and Tony and we are always there for each other...
We may not have lots of money, fast cars, flash jewellery etc but we have pride, love and family... Xxx

Good evening

Hi all
It's been a little hectic and life has been busy... So much so, I've been unable to write anything on this blog.
So what has been so busy with my world?
Paid work, working on a new respiratory pathway for acute and long term managing of COPD, using an NHS app and education plus allowing an alternative to option to admission to hospital, working with the Patient@home team, community services and more....
Added to that, my other services I manage still need input and then life!
The festive season was busy with family and friends.
Now, most of that is behind us... So hope to be on point with my book blogs.

So a quick reminder, there are links strewn around this blog with my Author page on Amazon to access.

My books are a range of fictional work that include hospital ghost stories, for obvious reasons, lottery dreams in a book and also a comedy and scifi story plus a couple of thrilling books based on psychopathic dentists and a heroine that saves the day.

Take a punt, have a look, download a copy of one and have a great evening

All the best

Childhood stories... Metaphors

I remember growing up in Gibraltar and listening to the many stories my grandad Louis would tell us grandkids about.
We were very close as a family and very protective of each other.
Grandad was the patriarch, he was a leader and very charismatic, far from fearsome but we would all listen to his advice and words of wisdom.

His stories were intertwined with some singing and voice changes. He was a heavy smoker so his gruff voice would make us listen even more intently. He was a great story teller, maybe why I like to write?
They were mainstream themes, issues that we needed to have insight of and learn. This was for our safety but it was delivered through a filtered and Innocent delivery by my abuelo (Spanish for grandad).

I fondly remember the story of 'El mantequero'... I suppose it was the Gibraltarian version of the boogie-man. We used to live near the botanical gardens, it was our playground but we needed to respect that although beautiful, the gardens were dangerous after dark.
El mantequero, the butter man : was apparently a big, evil and immoral man that would leap out if the shadows if he caught you lurking after sundown and take a large, sharp knife out of his hooded coat and cut into your palms, removing the fat from them (butter) that he collected and you would not be seen again.
It was a very effective deterrent for us children for many years.
So much so, I was never comfortable walking through the Alameda Gardens in Gibraltar until my late teens.

When I examine the message and the effect, I realise abuelo was teaching us about being aware of the risk we all had. The metaphor was about paedophile awareness.

On reflection, it worked and it was such a lovely way of keeping us safe. Abuelo loved us and was determined to reduce the risk of harm to my brother, cousins and I.

Have you got any memories that you can share that are similar in nature? Any wise words that are entwined in stories?

I6 ghosts

Sixteen chilling tales that are set within the walls of the world's most haunted hospital. Inspired by shared tales in the darkest of night shifts in the cold and eerie hospital wards.

Meticulously crafted 'Healthcare folklore' elaborated into the stories within this compilation of ghostly stories that is The Ultimate Phantasms in the Infirmary

Creepy stories that need to be explored and shared on All Hallows Eve.

Paperback and Kindle version... The choice is entirely yours

Cold, rainy days and dark evenings are back

The summer seems to be over, at least it feels this way in the UK.
The warmth of the day is less obvious as the temperature seems to have plummeted by a few degrees.
The evenings have drawn in as we now contend with the questions 'do we turn the heating on'?
Well with every cloud, there's a silver lining... I will now be more determined to finish the book I am writing.
What is it!?
Well it's the third part to the Mental Dental (MBP) series.
Yes, more thrilling adventures for Dr Jessie Stack as she faces the dangers of wrestling with psychopathic killer dentists.

So I hopefully will be able to complete the task I have set ahead and will publish in the coming months.
In the meantime, the summer may not be a distraction anymore but I have paid work, family and especially my gorgeous grandchildren to keep me from pen and paper.

Onwards and upwards

A story with guts...

Obsession of the Damned
A thriller with charisma
A book with a hook and a tireless heroine. Different to anything else you may have read.
A story of extremes and twists, worth a moment to find on Amazon.
Authored by yours truly... It's a must.

How to find it and what to do...
1 go on Amazon
2 find the book title... Obsession of the Damned
3 read and let your imagination take you in

My creations

They may not be perfect but they are mine.
They have been written with the intent to make the reader think, drift away, engage with the plot and characters.
They are being read and this is what matters.
They are being enjoyed and this is important too.
Most of all,  they exist!

Having the guts to write down your ideas, the strength of conviction to follow your project through from inception to delivery.. Bravery to dare.

If you have a book in you,  write it.

The critics only encourage and the plaudits help to expand our efforts.

Being Author

Write, inspire, keep going....

Cheeky Cheeseburger

Three days left to go to get your hands on this story tellers compilation.
0.99 only
Digital copies of a special book for the price of a cheeky cheeseburger....

The Ultimate ghost story collection

Author on the BBC

I'm being interviewed on BBC Essex on Dec 27th regarding a New Town project... Why we came and what made us stay?
The interview is on at 07:00 GMT

This is part of the project Michael from YourHarlow.Com has been working on.
It commemorates 70 years of Harlow new town.
The latter sounds like a mammoth task and an interesting piece...  I'm doing 1985.

The BBC piece involves an overview of experiences and evolution of the town I adopted as my home 31 years ago.

It's also a great opportunity to plug my books...
Tune in and listen.

Basking in the sun

If only RosieG could read.
She would be picking up a copy of Phobic Wars on kindle Countdown Deal and using her imagination to picture the Story.
Did I mention it's only 0.99?
Well it is... 

Goodreads

Link to my Goodreads scores...  Not all my books covered on it but not bad really

Do you agree?

Click

Favourite from the Infirmary

For all of you that have read any of the Phantasms in the Infirmary series...  Which story was your favourite chiller?
Why?
What made it memorable?

Let me know your thoughts

Time on your hands? Read a good book

Have you got some time on your hands? Between meetings, at lunch, chilling or before bed time... Why not read a good book.
RPG Books will fill your time. There's a few different, innovative and exciting reads by clicking the link.

Catch a glimpse and fill those moments with imagination and entertainment.

Growing library

Here's my eight books...
Increasing number of choices and stories to entertain.
Ghost stories, murder mystery, sci-fi, humour, hopes, dreams and millionaires...
Fiction aficionado... Look no further.

'They ain't heavy"
Not into long winded books? Something light that will keep you engaged?

These Red here, waiting and they won't break the bank.

Death Zone

It is little wonder there are so many ghost stories associated with hospitals.Hospitals accommodate many end of life scenarios. Some are expected but many are not. Not all that occurs in these edifices is negative but it can be a bit of a death zone...
Medications administered and stress effects on the brain can explain particularly haunting moments for patients but can they be explained for the healthcare professionals working there?

The presences encountered can be malevolent or benign, helpful or terrorising.It is the latter that most distresses the chance meetings with ghosts and ghouls, defined as people or even dark shapes.The Phantasms in the Infirmary series is a collection of some of the many encounters that numerous patients, visitors and healthcare workers have had. They have been added to in order to make the stories more readable than a couple of lines but they are based on a shared truth. 

Phantasms in the infirmary does not profess to be the "X-files" of hospital ghost stories but  it certainly lends itself to understanding many an unexplained occurrence in the many hospitals around the world, dotted with unexplained phenomena. 

May be worth a read...?

Writers, authors or story tellers?

Why do we write?
It's certainly not for the money...
The artistry of blending words into sentences and giving life to our thoughts is more my thing.
Story telling in a written format is way of sharing a moment of thought and putting it on paper,  or pc nowadays!
It makes it solid and perpetual.

Writing a story that then turns into a novel is cool.
It is an escape of the mind into a relative reality.
Relaxation and disengagement from the pressure of life. 
I am not a professional writer and my books may not be prize winners but I like them and I like what they say.
Reviews are generally kind, thanks.
If and when there are less favourable ones,  well I feel it but you cannot please everyone all the time... Fact.

So am I an author? Am I a writer,  well yes as I like to look at the written word looking back at me.
I prefer story teller.
My aim is to be read and share my thoughts, dreams and hopes of leaving some joy and positivity behind.
It's not the money or immortality I crave,  just sharing my stories. That is my target and aim.

Frighteningly good stories

The following is a taster of Phantasms in the Infirmary...

She entered the room which was extremely cold and uncomfortable; she could sense evil and then focused. She was now looking at a dark figure of a child; well it looked like a child. It was kneeling on the young patient’s chest with its hands firmly placed over the patient’s nose and mouth . Rosie , still groggy from the barbiturate cocktail, was not struggling. The monitor indicated that her heart was racing, tachycardic from the stress she was now enduring and there was no respiratory effort being made , how could there with a demonic obstruction on her chest and airways.

Writing books - Challenging

Writing books is an ongoing hobby for me.
The story teller within me has loads to impart.
Ideas flow and I try to capture these thought bubbles into words.
The next step is to arrange the random plethora of words and ideas into a rational and flowing stream.
Once this is done, review the flow and see if it makes sense, is it engaging? Is the story working as well as it did in my head?
Next steps are getting the editing done, the cover work, the publishing and all the rest of the stuff that goes with it.
In-between all this, there are several interruptions to the work flow... the phone, work, life!!!

My aim is to one day write a book in a few days. Something contemporary in a genre that will lead to more sales but more importantly, more readers getting familiar with my work.
I think I have written 4 pieces that are contemporary and innovative. Four books that will challenge the readers imagination and novels that will stand out.

Having written and published 4 books (Legally Lucky, Mental Dental, Phobic Wars and Phantasms in the Infirmary .. all available on Amazon by the way..) the challenge remains marketing them.
As a self published author, the demands on my time are many.

I cannot seem to spare the time to go on book signings, tours and more time on social media promoting them!

Here is the link to them.... RPG Books
I hoped that the books would be discovered and enjoyed by many more people than what the results are.
Disappointing as it can be, its a labour of love and not a business.
I remain resolute that they will be seen, read, enjoyed and shared among many people.
One aspires to getting a book into film... and from these, there are possibilities that could one day become film... especially Mental Dental (Murder by Proxy). This was an exhilarating ride to write it and a blooming good read
In the meantime, I continue to writ more stories, have more ideas and even more interruptions!!!
Such is life eh!

Enjoy your day and if you need a break from the mundane or a challenge to your day, download a copy of one of my novels and read on.

When you do, please share your reviews and thanks in anticipation.

All the best
Ram

Waiting to be read

Book Promo for Phantasms in the Infirmary

Of course the book was released in time for Halloween.... and it is out there, waiting for you to read it!