Category Archives: Update

Why I Disappear In Spring

As many know, I get busy and fall off the radar around this time every year.  For five years now I’ve been doing seasonal SCUBA diving work.  As interesting as that might sound, it’s anything but glamorous — chiefly, I pull weeds out of marinas and swim areas.  It’s strenuous, exhausting, dirty work, and I’ve enjoyed every minute.  I thought I might show a little of that — here are some pictures from the most recent job I was on pulling weeds and garbage at a swim area …

Empty tank — time to get a new one … and a sandwich!
Time to pop back in…
This looks so Baywatch — right?!
This was at the end of the day — my boss asked me to do surface work, which involves swimming around and catching picked weeds floating around that didn’t get collected in our bags while under water.
Get your mask in the right spot and don’t get water on the inside … it’s quite preferable!
I usually work in the water for 4-6 hours — moving efficiently is key — even when swimming without gear.
No matter how efficient one works, at the end of the day it can be difficult to get up and out of the water.

So why do I disappear in spring?  Frequently, this work takes me away from the Whidbey Island Baking Company headquarters.  The jobs are in the spring, so I have to go  do the work when I can get it.  Between jobs I’m busy staying on top of everything else.  This keeps me a bit too involved for my Recipes Of The Month and working on my books … but it’s good to get away from time to time, right?

Is Writing Hell?

The Four Before MeA Stray, astrayEarlier today I responded to a Twitter post by E.H. Night — author of “The Four Before Me” and “A Stray, Astray“.  She spoke about the weird prioritization that some of us get into.  With her endeavours she was considering making her 3rd-priority book her 1-st priority project or leave it where it’s at.  I understand this — I DO THIS!!!  Then came the question common to creatives of “Is this hell?”

I replied talking about my familiarity with this dilemma — I didn’t have a solution for her, only that I understand.  It came to me though to use this to update everyone on my book projects and where they’re at …. otherwise put, it’s my excuse to blog this week. hell

Before finishing “Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies(book 1) I started on a bagpipe sheet music book comprised of my own compositions (book 2).  This got put on hold to start on my second recipe book (book 3).  Summer 2018 this second recipe book (book 3) got put on hold to write (book 4) my military & patriotic Highland bagpipe tunes & tune history book.  From my sheet music and tune history book (book 4) I got inspired to write a history book about one of the men who landed on Normandy as part of the D-day invasion (book 5).  When I started it (book 5) I knew that I was going to have to gather my notes and set it aside for later.  I’ve accomplished this and now I’m trying to complete my sheet music and tune history book (book 4) so I can have it published no later than June 2020.  The only problem with that is the audience I developed from Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies (book 1) are ready and looking for another installment of recipes (book 2). hell

Clear as mud — RIGHT?!?

So is being a creative-type, having so many projects we want to bring to life a form of Hell? I don’t know — I’m only saying that I understand — that E.H. Night and all the other creative folks out there reading this is that you’re not alone.

For a mostly full list of my projects (Hell?), please see Upcoming and Completed Publishing Projects.

E.H. Night LINKS hell

Bill Millin and D-day

As you’ve seen from following my blog, checking in with my upcoming publishing projects page, or from my comments on Facebook or Twitter, I am busily working away on my next one … no Two, no THREE books!  While one of these is a recipe book I’m excited about, the one at the forefront is rather unique indeed.

SCUBA
Not actually me but you get the idea

Since July 2018 I have been actively working on a fundraiser project for a veterans organization I am a member of.  The goal has been to produce a book of (get ready for this…Military & Patriotic Highland Bagpipe Tunes & Their Histories.   The original intention was to  have this book published in time for spring/summer of 2019.  Then I got some contract work as a professional SCUBA diver (no, really) and I had to adjust … well … a LOT of my time and endeavours.

William Millin Normandy Invasion 1944
Bill Millin visiting France 6 June 1944

This Highland bagpipe sheet music book has sets of tunes representing the US Military, US Civil War, WWI, WWII, along with a Scottish and American patriotic set, and two other sets of historic military themed tunes.  To give better relevance to the WWII set I realized I needed to open the section with explaining who Bill Millin was and what he did on D-day, 6 June 1944.  This launched me into a rabbit-hole of research!  This essay is nearly complete — which is GREAT because it is the largest of the remaining steps to accomplish to completing this book.  Word has gotten around as to what I’m doing with this Bill Millin essay, and something came back to me.

You might be amused to know…

JAVA JAVA JAVAOn Tuesday I met with a retired USMC military historian.  We spent 3 amazing hours talking about Bill Millin history at a local coffee bistro.  He is interested in assisting me with information gathering and being a sounding board for my understanding of it all.  This gentleman has offered to draw from his resources.  He also had some interesting points on what it takes to effectively present history to a general let alone specific audience.

Pegasus Bridge June 1944 Horsa gliders
Pegasus Bridge, 9 June 1944; Horsa gliders visible in the background.

Right now I need some enlightenment to finish my essay about Millin for the bagpipe sheet music book.  The outfit he was in was involved with the famous Pegasus (bridge) objective which was taken just after midnight by men of the 6th Airborne on 6 June 1944.  What I need to know more about is what happened after they left the bridge.  With this essay complete, the rest of my book project is downhill on roller skates while eating cake!

IN THE MEAN TIME …

Please check out my recipe book Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies.  I published it just over a year ago — not only am I quite pleased with it, I’ve been receiving rave reviews from others!  It is available on Amazon and Smashwords — I also have some free recipes available here on my site.  If you have read it and enjoyed it — please take a few minutes and write a review — on Amazon, Smashwords, and now I’m on Goodreads.  This not only helps me get noticed as an author, it helps other readers to know what to expect.

Thank you & ENJOY! ~ Don

Modern Publishing Blues, Vol. 01

UGG!!!
/pounds head on desk 3Xs …

TRY IT! … it feels great when you stop.

Yesterday — late in the afternoon — I jammed to the library as closing time quickly approached ….
MY MISSION:  Upload the updated manuscript for my book in preparation for the Flash Sale I plan to hold late this month.

My debut recipe book, “Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies“, published on 26Oct2018.  For the past year I’ve stayed staunchly attentive for any and all errors to be found in my tome of tasty treats.  Yesterday was the big day!  Yesterday was when I fixed my inexact “exactally”.  Yesterday was when I fixed all the metric mistakes caused by my careless copy-&-pasting.  Yesterday was when I deleted the asterisk that lead*.  Yesterday was when I atoned for the flour mis-measurement in my Peanut Butter Biscotti recipe.  It was also when I changed the cover from gloss to matte, which is supposed to have better market appeal, but in the big picture that really isn’t a big deal.
*to nowhere.

What … you don’t dress like this when you go to the library?!?

The clock was ticking close to 5PM.  The lethargic upload status on my computer screen predicted completion on a Tuesday following infinity.

AND THEN IT HAPPENED!!!

I successfully uploaded my mitigated manuscript to (click here to read about The Amazon River) and skated out the doors right as the learned establishment was closing.  Oh yes, I avoided the wrath of the Library Aids who had to work on a Sunday.  Indiana Jones himself couldn’t have done better!

Returning home, I couldn’t have been more calm … cool … and collect.  I donned my Keds and cardigan sweater, and settled in for some dinner accompanied by the next DVD in my TBW stack.  As the screen flickered in front of my face I found myself content … serene … one with myself and at peace in the universe …  Fred Rogers himself couldn’t have done better!

AND THEN IT HAPPENED!!!

No good deed goes unpunished.  My phone gave a ding indicating a new email.  It was from (click here to read about The Amazon River).  Surely not a big deal, they’re just messaging me to say that my corrected manuscript had gone through and the new version of my book had launched …

NOPE!

Okay, I’m tired of this blog post — it’s been fun, but I suspect it’s dragging on for you, too — so I’ll cut to the chase…

My local tribe of Library Aids ….. what, you don’t believe me?!?

It seems (click here to read about The Amazon River) has one problem or another with my book.  I’m not clear what it is, and from their emails I’m not entirely sure that they are either.  I’m doing what I can to get my book relaunched before they said they might take it down all together.  I’ve emailed them, I’ve chatted with online help, and I’ve called them.  I’m about to go outside to launch a carrier pigeon followed by starting a smoke-signal fire while Library Aids play their tribal drums (recent photo above).  I’m doing everything I can to cooperate with (click here to read about The Amazon River) and get things back on track.  I am frustrated but optimistic that they are working to this end, too.

ALL THAT SAID …

IT IS MY SINCERE HOPE that all of this tomfoolery is worked out before the Flash Sale I’ve planned to hold — which is coming up SOON!  If you want to get in on my Flash Sale — GREATPlease Email Me ASAP 🙂  If you’re not familiar with what a Flash Sale is, it’s like this ….. I’ll message you and let you know  when the secret sale time will be.  During that limited time the price of my book will be greatly reduced.  In return, I ask that you read my book and post a review on the site you bought it from — hopefully a positive reviewIt’s that simple!

… Don …

PS — What a waste of time … I really don’t need extra headaches.  It was not my intention to start an international incident and offend The Gods Of (The Amazon River).  When this is all done I might be impeached.

PPS — According to Wikipedia “The Amazon River in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and by some definitions it is the longest.”

Back to WORK – Bill Millin and D-Day

Bill Millin plays bagpipes for soldiers, 1944
Bill Millin plays his pipes for fellow soldiers in 1944.

This past summer got BUSY … and interesting!  As many of you know I had a few adventures as a professional SCUBA diver, working at various locations around western Washington.  While it was great to get back in the water and blow bubbles, it also required me to shift my priorities.  Big among those priorities was the completion of my second bookAs many of you ALSO know this project is a Highland bagpipe sheet music & tune history book I am writing as a fundraiser for a veteran’s organization I am a member of.  There are a few chunky tasks remaining before publication.  The most challenging of these is writing about Bill Millin, a bagpiper who played on D-Day.

The legend of Bill Millin is well-known in the Highland bagpipe community.  The short story that everyone knows is that “Piper Bill” went ashore on Sword Beach* — he carried no firearm, wore a kilt, played bagpipes, and never got shot by German forces because they thought he had gone insane.  While all of this is true and I already knew from lore, I have been formally researching the whole story and it is far more detailed.
(*Queen Red, the furthest east section of the invasion)

Bill Millin, Highland bagpipes, landing, Queen Red, Sword Beach.
Bill Millin with his bagpipes landing on the Queen Red section of Sword Beach.

It is an honor to be writing about this man’s role in the June 6, 1944, Normandy invasion and it is important to me that I get it right.  I have reached out for every information source I can locate.  Presently I have a considerable stack of library books on D-Day, audiobooks and e-books, media on order, one film, along with articles and interviews I’ve found online.  Something I am particularly excited about is that I have made contact with Bill Millin’s son and grandson online and they have agreed to review my work once complete.  Also, it seems that each time I stop by the library to pick up another piece of media I’ve ordered, I find and buy a D-Day or WWII book from their used book rack.  Apparently I’m building my own D-Day/WWII library $3 at a time!

The bronze life-size statue of Piper Bill Millin unveiled on 8 June 2013 at Colleville-Montgomery, near Sword, in France.

As I review these history sources I have found some problems in the information.  Generally speaking I have books written by historians and articles written by journalists.  Some of the errors I have identified due to my Highland bagpipe playing career.  Some of the errors seem to be words and concepts the previous writers did not fully understand.  The biggest problem I have been finding is historical inconsistencies.  Generally the greater collection of errors come from the journalists — these individuals tend to work at a faster pace with less study than historians.  Usually I can sift through the historical inconsistencies by applying information from military documents along with identifying the details that are consistent in history books and interviews from Bill Millin himself.

As said it is an honor to be writing about this man.  It is an honor as a bagpiper and as the grandson of WWII veterans.  My aim is to help clean up some of the history mistakes that have developed and promote the greater story of Bill Millin’s role in D-Day among my piping peers along with my non-piping readers.  I am sure that you too will be impressed by this one aspect of The Greatest Generation and the greatest invasion in the history of the world.

Books and Other Media

Middle-grade and Youth-oriented Books
  • D-Day by Charlie Samuels – Part of the “Turning Points In US Military History” collection, for its target audience this book looked excellent!
  • D-Day / A True Book by Peter Benoit – This book is similar to the Charlie Samuels’ text … only that I’m uncomfortable with a history book that says it is a ‘true’ history book.
  • D-Day / The Invasion of Normandy 1944 by Rick Atkinson – I plowed through the Atkinson book looking for information on my subject.  In my opinion based on the other books I have studied, the author glosses over details and frequently presents them with gross mistakes.
  • D-Day / The WWII Invasion That Changed History by Deborah Hopkinson – I’m frankly disappointed by this book.  Picking it up it appears to be on-par with the work of Cornelius Ryan and Stephen Ambrose (ETC) — the book is large and thick — but that is a first impression only.  Upon closer inspection, as an author I can tell you there are a few tricks that have been used to make the book appear more impressive.  The two main tricks is that the book is not single-spaced and it is loaded with pictures; take out the photos, make it single spaced, and it is half the length at best.  This 2018 publication does not appear to present anything new on the topic and is possibly written in such a manner as to not ‘offend’ the Politically Correct (ETC) crowd &/or to spoon-feed D-Day to the delicate middle-grade blue-ribbon crowd.  The good thing I can say about the book is that it is worth it for accessing the D-Day related pictures … other than that, other books are in my opinion better information sources whereas this one is comparatively watered-down.  And for my uses … no apparent mention of Bill Millin on Sword Beach or at Pegasus Bridge.

If you would like to support my writing endeavours today, please find my book “Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies” on Amazon, Smashwords and their affiliates4 Free Recipes are available if you would like to try before you buy.