I could tell you about how when the tiki bar closed, we trekked down the beach to another resort to carry on the party. I could also tell you about a certain rep that had to be deposited at his hotel and taken up to his room by the group because he was so drunk... I could tell you a whole lot more about the tiki bar soap opera antics from the week.
But just like Vegas, what happens at Ninc, stays at Ninc.
And I fear I may already have told you too much.
Mum and my Car Insurance Company
I feel there is a wealth of information I need to share with my mother at some point. She’s not exactly receptive though… so I’ll tell you, just to get it off my chest.
Mum called me the other day.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?”
My heart sank. I’d asked her to call my car insurance company to pay another bill. I’d recently changed the address the car was being kept, and while they could update the address over email, they wanted more money and I had to call them.
Except, I have no cell signal in my apartment, and they don’t accept voip calls… meaning I would have to try and do the call from a noisy café which is never ideal.
So, I asked my mum to make the call for me, and sent her all the information she’d need and my card details.
Two days later I’m making my second coffee of the morning and my music in my headphones stops, and a call from my mum comes through on messenger.
“Give me the good news first,” I tell her, bracing myself. At this point I’m calculating that maybe the good news is good enough to cancel out the bad.
“Well, I’ve got you a rebate.”
Huh? “But they wanted more money, and I’ve just renewed. I don’t understand.”
“Well, I did everything you asked,” she explained, “and it all went through. They’ve updated your card on the system like you asked… and then I said to the girl… That’s kinda steep, isn’t it? 700? I’m sure I can get it cheaper if I just ring around.”
I put down the coffee pot and continued to listen. Now bear in mind my mum has fallen for a total of 6 or 7 scams in the last ten years. That’s just the big ones, that I know about. That’s not counting the everyday scams and ill-advised purchases… Like expensive rugs on her trip to Morocco, or a ridiculously priced sky package full of stuff she doesn’t watch. So forgive me if I’m more than a little impressed with her negotiating on my car insurance! I mean, she has no dog in this fight… And she’d done the task she’d agreed to do – call them, pay the money on my card. It was finished. But yet she asked that question.
More than a little impressed.
“So she said, hang on just a minute,” she continued clearly enjoying the telling of the story. “She put me on hold for a minute, and came back… and she said she could take off ninety quid, if we didn’t want the breakdown cover. Since you’re not using it and if I use it it’s covered by my breakdown service, I said we could get rid of that. If you come back and want to drive it, then I can add you onto mine.”
Smart thinking, Hubbard. “Great! Yeah sure… thank you!”
“Hang on, there’s more…” she pressed.
There is more. You still need to tell me the bad news. I mean, 90 quid back is fab, but it’s not going to change a lot. Especially not if there is bad news yet to come. I find myself still bracing. “Uh huh?”
“Well then I asked her what else she could do?”
Color me super impressed at this point! She’s going for it!
“And?”
“Well, all in all instead of you paying an extra two hundred and something, you’re going to be getting a forty pound rebate.”
Wha… why?
Because, I asked if she could do any better and said I’d ring around and get a cheaper quote. She knew I could. That’s it. They just gave it to me.
OMG. Hubbard!
“That’s amazing! Thank you so much! I can’t believe you pushed them… I thought you’d just pay it and be done with it.”
“Well, I thought it was a lot to be paying for a car you don’t drive. And it was pretty steep….”
I had to ask. I was feeling pretty nervous still. Last thing I needed was another thing to sort out on a car in another country. “So what was the bad news?”
“Oh, there isn’t anything. I just said it.”
“Mother! Omg seriously? I’ve been bracing myself all the time you were telling that story… waiting for the bad news.”
“Oh, well. No. just good news then.”
“Okay, thanks pet…” We chinwagged a little more and then hung up.
Here’s what I would have liked her to know when using the good news, bad news phrase….
ONLY USE THAT IF THERE IS SOME FRIKKIN’ BAD NEWS!
I would have enjoyed this a lot more if I wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop.
But thanks for negotiating me a better rate on the car I don’t drive ;)
Rex and Hexe
My deal friend and I have just started releasing his new series Hexe.
Volume 1 is now out on Amazon. It’s called Chosen for Power, and has his name, Rex Baron, on the cover.
Hexe: Vol 1, Chosen for Power
https://books2read.com/u/b5QzwG
Here’s the skinny:
Magic… when ruthless ambition is not enough.
Lucy has it all.
A blossoming singing career, the looks for the silent movie business, and a lover to die for.
All is unfolding swimmingly until she is confronted by a young actress who is well versed in dark magic and her sights set on stealing everything from her.
Having denied her own birthright as witchcraft, Lucy has to protect her career, relationship and ultimately, her life.
Before it’s too late.
Surrounded by a world of glamour and wooed by a leading matinee idol, Volume One: Chosen for Power follows Lucy in a sweeping tale of obsessive love, witchcraft and retribution.
This spellbinding eight-part historical fantasy drama is set in four different eras spanning the course of a century. Beginning in 1921, Hexe tracks the dark magical exploits of four women joined by the thread of destiny.
If you read it, hit me up and let me know what you think. I loved this series and I’m so excited to see what happens with it.
Note, all of the spells inside are real, but they’ve been tweaked slightly so that folks can’t cause any damage with them! Just FYI ;P
Okay, I’m up to my word quota for the back of the book notes. Thanks again for reading, and for your 5* reviews on the Zon. You really are the best. I’ll see you in book 4, which should be out in just a few weeks after this one goes live.
Ellie/Izzie x
Author Notes from Michael Anderle
November 19, 2019
Thank you for reading both this series, and these author notes.
H#ly C43p Ellie’s notes are … long. I didn’t see a lot of good places to interject, so I’ll just post something way back here in the back, in the dark, where no one goes…
HA!
Ellie wrote her author notes before 20Booksto50k® Vegas and I am writing mine after. It was a fantastic event and my head is still a bit foggy from it all.
During the event, a metric buttload of authors (closer to 1,000) have all sorts of conversations, meetings, events, games and general merriment and recklessness (as authors have done through the ages.)
This conference was spawned out of the 20Booksto50K® Facebook group which was created as a way to give back. To share the ideas and tactics that help authors get a leg up and a hand up in their author career.
During the event, one of the authors came up to me as I was standing on the stage (the presentation was over) and I sat down to chat with him. He handed me a book, and explained I had paid for the cover and he wanted to share. I accepted the book, but then he reminded me why I did that.
At the time he reached out to talk with me on social media, he was homeless. Due to some strings I pulled, I was able to
procure him a cover (as that was the best item to help him sell his books he lacked.) He had to create the story, acquire the proofing etc. himself.
I asked him where he was living now – “What is your situation?” I asked.
“I’m in a small trailer and I have five books out, now!”
That man made me feel 10 feet tall. He not only went on to publish that first book, but he published four more books and got himself a place to live. That was work and effort on his part, not mine.
And some people wonder why I don’t get more upset with Amazon when things go wrong?
It’s because without KDP, we wouldn’t have stories like this.
Amazon has changed the world for the better, and I’m a huge supporter.
Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle
Books written by Ell Leigh Clarke
The Ascension Myth
* With Michael Anderle *
Awakened (01)
Activated (02)
Called (03)
Sanctioned (04)
Rebirth (05)
Retribution (06)
Cloaked (07)
Bourne (08)
Committed (09)
Subversion (10)
Invasion (11)
Ascension (12)
Confessions of a Space Anthropologist
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Giles Kurns: Rogue Operator (1)
Giles Kurns: Rogue Instigator (2)
The Second Dark Ages
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Darkest Before The Dawn (3)
Dawn Arrives (4)
Interplanetary Spy For Hire
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Expelled
Deuces Wild
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Beyond The Frontiers (1)
Rampage (2)
Labyrinth (3)
Birthright (4)
The Sword-Mage Chronicles
Awakening
Taken
Heist
Resistance
Legba
Storm
Books By Michael Anderle
For a complete list of books by Michael Anderle, please visit:
www.lmbpn.com/ma-books/
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A Girl’s Best Friend (Moonlight Detective Agency Book 3) Page 27