Up until now, my writing has been centered on the Philippines. My time there (ten years) was bittersweet. There were many good times, and the ordinary people were very friendly and helpful. I will always remember the wonderful beaches, the exciting jungles and the clear, blue seas. There are many species of animals that exist in these islands that do not exist anywhere else in the world and more are being discovered every year, Last year, a new species of frog was discovered deep in the still unexplored jungles.
However, my memories of these idyllic lands are tainted by my later experiences. Foreigners are often targets for criminals - including some serving police and military officers (but not all) - and I have friends who eventually had to leave the islands much poorer. They had no one to help them or to complain to as it was the police who scammed and extorted them. They tried to start a business, giving employment to local people, but gave up after many bribes and thefts. I will tell you the full story in my next blog. I would always advise any foreigners going to the Philippines to be very careful and keep themselves to themselves. If you want to find out the truth about life there, read DEADLY ELECTION - it's full of true tales which will make your hair stand on end. You can pick up a copy at HALF PRICE or read it for free on KINDLE UNLIMITED HERE for a limited time.

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  Today I’m going to talk about their legal system. The pitfalls and horrors – and how to survive there. I lived in Manila for nearly ten years and during that time I was a warden for the British Embassy. This lowly and unpaid position was created to assist Brits who’d got into difficulties with the law. It was always something to do with land or women, or sometimes both. 
Foreigners can’t buy land in the Philippines, so besotted foreigners would often buy land, or a house in the name of their wife or girlfriend. If the relationship went sour the man would at some point realize that his lady had the house, and he had no way to get back his investment. Often, these guys would contact the Embassy thinking they would help – they would not. What they would do is ask me or another warden to help the man ‘negotiate’ his problem, usually to no avail as the lady ‘landowner’ had all the cards. 
Sometime there may be some legal recourse, but the hapless boyfriend/husband soon learnt that the foreigner will never win a court case against a local,unless he has enough funds to bribe the judge – and in the Philippines I never met a judge who could not be bribed – and even then, the chances of ever getting any of your hard earned cash back was very slim .The other, and more common, issue was a problem with a lady. In Manila, the biggest criminals are the police – so if you’re in trouble, who do you turn to..
A favourite scam which I encountered many times was for the unsuspecting foreigner to pick up a girl in the street and take her back to his room. When she went to ‘powder her nose’ she would plant a packet of drugs in the bathroom, then send a text to her policeman accomplice. A few minutes later, the policeman would knock on the door and demand to come in. He would search the toilet and find the drugs and haul the poor guy off to jail, or, for anything from $100 to $500 cash, they would let him go there and then. The sensible guys would pay up and put it down to experience, but some naively wanted to take their chance with the ‘justice system’ – little realizing that the legal system was nothing like what they were used to at home. Nobody (the police, the lawyers, the judges) cared whether you were guilty or not. 
All they cared about was how much money they could extort from you before you managed to bribe your way out of the problem. It’s a big eye-opener for anyone who’d grown up in a half decent legal system. Most were surprised when they were told that their embassy could do nothing to help them – the government policy being not to interfere in the affairs of the country. Eventually they would pay up, because being in a Philippine jail is no fun. The saddest cases were those that were stuck there for years because they had no money, but no one believed them, and thought if they held onto them long enough, they will get money from somewhere. On that sad note I will leave you until next time. Please do reply to me with any thoughts or observations – or pick up one of my books below to learn more about life in the Philippines.

​The REAL impact of the Duterte regime.
Going into Rodrigo Duterte’s third year as the controversial President of the Philippines it is worth reflecting on the way he is seen both inside the Philippines and by the rest of the world.
In the US and other developed countries, he is seen as a lawless warlord, killing at will and paying no regard to human rights. Unpunished summary executions, usually on the spot, of alleged drug pushers are referred to as evidence of his disregard for law and order and of his ‘warlord’ mentality.
He openly advocates the extrajudicial killings of those involved in dealing drugs and protects and praises those carrying out his ‘policies’. Those affected are usually at a lower level as the ‘higher ups’ have ways to protect themselves and are usually close with politicians, military or police (many of which are, or have been, active drug ‘lords’.)
Additionally, many police and politicians have seized the opportunity to settle scores and even to take over drug operations from competitors, and there is no doubt that many killings have had nothing to do with drugs, but are family feuds, business disputes etc. But by mentioning drugs the perpetrators usually go without any punishment.
However, there is another side to this story. The criticisms and outrage by foreigners who do not know the Philippines, who live in ‘safe’ countries and do not need to worry about being killed or victimized by the drug culture that used to exist is largely misinformed. There are few families in the Philippines who have not been affected with a family member being killed by drugs or by drug pushers.
Because of this, despite of the anomalies and ‘mistakes’ Duterte still enjoys great support among Philippinos here and abroad because, at least in respect of drugs, things are improving. In some areas drug dealing has greatly reduced and even disappeared.
People do feel safer now than before. Duterte has tackled the problem in a way no western leader would have got away with, and it does seem to be working, while in the US the drug problem increases, and no-one seems to have a clue how to address it. All the western politicians can d it re-has old, failed policies. It is difficult to see how it will end.
​

​Domestic helper abuse in Hong Kong is not news anymore. The abuse goes on – no-one in authority cares, or is too frightened to act.
In the last two years two very high-profile cases have brought the plight of overseas domestic helpers in our supposedly progressive city to the attention and scorn of the world.
Erwiana Susistyaningsih was an Indonesian maid who worked for a cruel Chinese employer who beat her, starved her and committed many other atrocities. Her case only came to light because she collapsed at Hong Kong airport when trying to get home. She spent nearly a month in hospital and left in a wheelchair. Her employer is now serving a prison sentence.
​​More recently Baby Allas, a Philippina single mother with five children discovered she had stage three cervical cancer and needed urgent medical treatment. When her employer found out she was ill, instead of helping her she immediately illegally terminated her employment, depriving the ailing mother of medical treatment in Hong Kong. Among other abuses she was made to sleep on the floor and not use the bed that was in the room. Last week a Hong Kong judge awarded her just HKD 30,000 and showed no sympathy causing members of the public to walk out of his courtroom in disgust.

Domestic workers, mainly from the Philippines and Indonesia come to Hong Kong to work for several reasons – all of them financial.

Primarily, they want to earn money to send home to support their family – education and health care are not free there, and the cost of quality health care and education is well beyond the reach of the average filipino.

In Hong Kong they will earn at least HKD 4,410 – less than half the wage that a Hong-Konger or other foreign worker will earn, but more than twice as much as they could expect in their home country.

Many of them will have an ulterior motive for coming here. Some will be using it as a stepping stone to get to Canada – who will only take ‘live-in caregivers’ with a certain educational level and one year’s experience of working overseas.

Others will come with the intention of finding a new husband – who will give her and her children much better prospects. It may be a US guy they meet here or online, or a local Hong-Konger. If they marry a local they can change their visa status to dependent and stay here indefinitely as well as being able to get jobs which pay three times as much.

A third, and often overlooked category or girls come here, or stay here, for sex work. This is rarely discussed and often swept under the carpet.

Imagine you are a 20 something girl with young children to support and you have come to Hong Kong so you can send them money. Everything goes well until your employer terminates you for no reason (under the unfair laws here it is easy for the employers to do).

​Under the law you must return to the Philippines within 14 days. You have no time to find a new job, you cannot work without a visa, and your family still needs your help. What do you do?

Many girls take the risky option of overstaying their visa so they can cruise the bars in Wanchai looking for customers for sex. Sometimes they can get away with this for many years, but immigration officers often pose as clients and we frequently read of girls deported or imprisoned.

Some working domestic helpers here legally will also ‘moonlight’ on a Saturday night and Sunday to earn a little extra money.

​Other girls will come into Hong Kong on a 14 day visitor visa and ‘work the bars’ before they have to go home, or even overstay instead of going home. They have little to lose.

I accept that this has always been the case and probably always will, but until Hong Kong improves salary and conditions for it’s helpers it is certainly not going to get any better.

​ She was also given her notice while on sick leave in contravention of Hong Kong law. Without help. Baby Jane must leave Hong Kong and rely on the much more unreliable healthcare in the Philippines- and with little money to pay for it. Luckily, her visa has been extended to allow her to stay in Hong Kong to take legal action against her employer, but she is still left without funds for her medical treatment and continued stay in Hong Kong. Her need is urgent. The Hospital Authority says she need immediate radiation and chemotherapy. Even a delay of a few weeks could be critical. Concerned well-wishers have set up a go-fund-me page to try to raise money for Baby Jane’s treatment – you can contribute here:

https://gogetfunding.com/fired-for-having-cancer-urgent-cancer-care-for-baby-jane-allas/

It is well-known that uncaring employers here in Hong Kong often dismiss domestic workers because of serious illness – and the government rules allow them to do it, offering little or no support to the sick worker. Most domestic helpers in these circumstances have to rely on charity here or give up and go back home with no medical support.

How sad the direction the world is taking in respect of free speech. Prominent journalist Maria Ressa was recently released from jail on bail – she is still facing charges for her work.
In the Philippines freedom of the press is often denied, with many cases of journalists being killed or disappearing – The Philippines is among the top three most dangerous places for journalists in the world.
The trend towards curbing free expression and responsible journalism is worldwide, and the US President, Donald Trump is sending very negative messages to other leaders by calling for “investigations” when he doesn’t like a satirical program or political report. Dictators and Despotic leaders around the world have always behaved this way, because a true and free press is a danger to them.
It is very sad, however when leaders of the supposed free world start to chip away at press freedoms.
Saudi Arabia was recently adjudged to be responsible for a US based critical journalist – killing and dismembering him when he visited their embassy – and the US President refuses to condemn them.
For good or bad, he is still considered to the leader of the free world, although he is alienating most of his allies by his sometimes-bizarre actions and his lack of support for them. Previously the world had looked up to the US for leadership and guidance. This is rapidly changing.
Maria faces charges of “cyber libel” because it sought to expose corruption in the highest level. Justice in this country is hard to come by, but let hope that Maria may be kept safe and treated fairly.
Press should always be free to make comment on political actions and opinions from all sides, and when these press freedoms are curbed democracy is damaged

​​What are the biggest issues facing the Philippines today? Is it Poverty? Corruption? Healthcare? No, according to some senators it is the lack of a space program.
​
The senate is now considering a bill to establish the Philippine Space Agency. Proponents of the Bill say it will enable space technology which will provide information and data that can solve some of the problems the country faces, like crop management, disaster relief and recovery, planning, transportation and communications.
Sounds good? Maybe, but the country already HAS satellites which may provide these functions. In 1996 a private firm, Mabuhay Satellite Corporation bought a second-hand satellite formerly owned by an Indonesian Company.  Since then It has launched from China it’s own satellite – Agila 2 – developed in the US.
In the public sector, the Government developed two more satellite – this time developed by Philippinos. The Diwata – 2 microsatellite and Maya – 1 cube satellite were both launched last year.
The proponents of the bill are proposing spending php 1 Billion on this project. It will also raise a further php 10 Billion from the Betting industry, other Government agencies and grants and loans (meaning free money yet again from the International Community).
The main proponent of the Bill – Senator Paulo Benigno Aquino IV – has said that insufficient funding, and a lack of a central co-ordinating agency has hindered development of space technologies in the country. He could also have mentioned that it has been hindered by the hundreds of thousands of Pesos which have disappeared into the pockets of politicians and contractors, as is the norm for all Government projects and ventures.
The average Philippino, cannot afford food, or healthcare. They worry about their family being targeted by drug dealers or by Police or Troops suspecting them of drug-dealing, with the President’s approval.
They are not impressed by another device to put a piece of hardware into space which, yet again, will likely do little more than line the pockets of it’s proponents and their cronies.

Those of us who have in first hand knowledge of the way foreign domestic helpers are treated in Hong Kong will be amused at the latest effort to paper over the cracks by the labour department. Never mind the abuse of these poor girls by having to live in with their employers, the unfairness of having to leave the SAR within 14 days of leaving their jobs, giving them no chance to find another job, and NEVER being allowed to become a Permanent Resident in the city.
​
Oh no, what these girls need is a 24 hour hotline providing support services. It is open every day, except public holidays (When girls are not working and would have time to contact them) 24 hours a day. From 8 am to 10 pm. A translations service is available in most Asian languages (when girls are working, and many girls are not allowed to use their phones.)
The helpline will give advice (in several languages) on their employment rights, and how to deal with exploitation and physical abuse.
Labour departments generally have been unhelpful to domestic helpers – they are not even open on a Sunday when 90% of helpers have their only day off, so I suppose this helpline is a step in the right direction.
Most of the assistance provided to the helpers is given by non-government organisations – churches and charities. This is a sad indictment on the way this supposed modern city treats guest workers.
To his credit, Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung has said that although this is a step in the right direction it would just provide information and do nothing to actually assist those with problems. Cheung urged the government to provide more and better services, such as emergency shelters for those suffering abuse.
“We cannot treat them as tools, they are humans,” Cheung said.
A shelter may help workers who have their contracts terminated and are tied in legal disputes with employers. The system is against them – if they manage to stay here to fight their case, they are not allowed to work so many of them cannot afford to stay, attend court etc.
Despite the occasionally highlighted serious abuses, hundreds of girls are abused every day, their employment rights are denied (they are made to sleep on floors, their passports are taken away from them).
These girls cannot complain because it is so easy for the employer to sack them, they know the Government will not let them stay to find another job – and their families at home are depending on the income they send home. HK Government should be ashamed of itself – instead of starting hotlines or lobbying for shelter the lawmakers should be made to tackle the abuses which are enshrined in law.

​Just fifteen years ago a child of nine years old would be treated as an adult in the Philippine legal system. Children under ten years old could be tried as an adult and sentenced to life imprisonment or worse – just like an adult. Critics, at that time, said that this enabled drug dealers and other organized crime to put up children to face charges as their stooges. This resulted in children being kept in adult jails, which are widely accepted to be among the worst in the world with bad sanitation, overcrowding and food, and many instances of sexual and physical abuse.
In 2005 the Senate raised the age limit to fifteen and this year we have a proposal to reduce the age to twelve. This is all about the test of Legal Responsibility – at what age can a minor be said to have thought and acted like an adult. The truth is that it will be different in every case – I am sure we all know some very responsible twelve years old and some eighteen year olds that we would not trust to walk our dog!
In most countries in the western world there is more discretion. There is an in-between way. Up to twelve a child is deemed to be too young to prosecute as an adult – to be not responsible for their criminal actions, and over sixteen they are assumed to be an adult and should bear all responsibility for their action.
During the teen years there is a time, say twelve to sixteen years where a child may or may not be responsible for their actions. In legal terms it is called a rebuttable presumption. They are assumed to be too young to take all blame, but evidence can be introduced to show that they did indeed know what they were doing and should be treated and sentenced as such.
President Duterte is said to approve the proposed change. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo has said the change is needed to protect the children, however, many of the extra judicial killings which have been tacitly approved by Duterte have been children and because of the Presidents words and actions there is never any legal consequences for the killers.
Critics say the only effect of the change would be for crime gangs to put up children under twelve instead of children under fifteen to face crimes on their behalf, and with the inherent corruption in the police and the legal system this will probably be the case.
This change will look good in the International Community who do not understand how the Philippines works, but will have little effect in actually helping teens. Drug and criminal gangs, still run by the most powerful families and politicians, will continue with business as usual.
As with all political changes and proposals in this lawless country. The truth behind the façade is very different – what looks good on the surface does not bear scrutiny, and usually served to advance one party’s agenda – and never that of the long suffering people.

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I apologise for returning to the subject of reviews, but as usual – I have something to say, and I cannot keep it in.

I have been very lucky. Over the past month, my book ‘Deadly Election’ (shameless plug!) has received over thirty reviews.  They range from three star to five star, and many contain valid critical points.

However, it is obvious to any interested observer that there is trickery afoot at both ends of the scale with Amazon reviews.  We are all told that ‘good reviews help to sell books’ - usually by people who make more money selling books in one day than I do in a year – so we listen to them.

It would seem that there are those less scrupulous, and more impatient, writers (I won’t name names, but they are all over the internet if you search for them) who want to short cut the system and are either paying for hundreds of reviews to be written, or worse, creating lots of fake accounts to post wonderful five star reviews about their mediocre product.

Whenever I see a book with multiple reviews, all of them five star, I cringe – I only hope that readers are seeing through them. There is nothing wrong with a four star review – it usually means it is still a good book, but maybe the reviewer is conservative and a bit more thoughtful – we should all be happy with that.

And then, of course, there is the other end of the scale – the negative one star reviews.  Now, I would be the first to admit that, unfortunately there are some books out there that really do only merit a one star.

But when you see a bunch of good four and five star reviews followed by a clutch of brief, negative one stars – you know there has been some trolling going on.

The sad thing is that these bad reviews DO affect our sales – they affect the mechanics of Amazon, so the book is not promoted so well – I am not sure about their effect on readers, but of course, they are also very hurtful to the author, and Amazon are slow to remove them, if you can get them removed at all!

Of course, the best and most reliable reviews I suppose will be the ‘verified purchase’ ones – at least you will know that the reviewer paid out real money to get the book.  I had my second ‘verified purchase’ review today, a four star (the first was a five star) (second shameless plug).

I feel quite negative about the future value of reviews to us as serious writers. There are no controls on the fake good reviews or the deliberately savage ones, so I am sure they will continue, unless Amazon can think of a way to preserve the integrity of their system.

My reviews are, as I suspect are most reviews for indie publishers, are a mixture – what I can say is that NONE of them are written by family or close friends.  They are mostly written by friends from Twitter and Facebook who I have sent the book too on spec., but recently a few from people I really do not know, who have bought the book, are popping up – and that is very satisfying.

I have revamped my website – I have no IT knowledge but I managed to build the thing with Weebly.com – it really is easy to use, - you can check it out HERE.

Just in case you have not done so yet, PLEASE sign up for my newsletter and regular updates HERE – or use the box on the right hand side of this page ->

Please go and like my facebook page if you have time - www.facebook.com/arthurcrandonauthor and follow also - @arthurcrandon, so make sure you follow me on twitter. 
 That’s it – you can relax now – no more promoting for this week!

I had a complaint last week – I dared to put dogs in my cat blog.  I have soughty guidance from the Animal Discrimination Board – and I am told that I must I operate and equal oppurrtunities policy – so there will now be many different animals – I hope you will like them;

S L Wallace responded to my last blog with an excellent piece of advice for writers - I thought I would share that advice so today I am giving my blog post to S.L.Wallace.  I have learned from her - I am sure you will too... Bye for now, Arthur


Like many people, I am not a multi-published, award winning, best-selling author. What I am is a teacher and a mom with a passion for writing. And I am grateful for the world of self publishing that has so recently opened its doors. Without it, many wonderful stories would remain hidden, visible only to the author's family and close friends.

I began my journey about two and a half years ago. By that, I do not mean that I began writing two and a half years ago, but rather that I began writing with a plan to publish. In that time I have learned a lot, but no matter how much I learn or how long I hone my skills, I also know I will never be able do everything in this business, because no one is a master of all trades.

Does that mean in order to self publish high quality reading material, one must pay a lot of money? No, it does not. Does it mean that a writer should spend a lot of time and effort on their craft? Yes, most certainly, and wouldn't they want to anyway? Does it mean writers need to be open-minded and honest? Yes, if they plan to be any good—yes.

First, be honest with yourself. You cannot do everything. If you're terrible at art, ask or hire someone else who has artistic talent to make your cover designs. If using computers for anything other than typing frightens you, hire or beg someone else who is skilled with computers to format your books for you. It's okay to ask for help. Actually, it's good to ask for help. If you hire a cover designer, editor, or someone to format your books expect to pay them well if you want high quality. And yes, high quality is important whether a book is traditionally published, published by a small publishing house, or self published. However, you can cut costs by working with someone you know personally or by trading services within the Indie community. There are many of us out there, and among us, we have a wealth of knowledge and skills. Many Indies are willing to trade editing services for cover designs or for formatting assistance.

Then, take this a step further and begin to learn about your own weaknesses by asking others to read your work and give you their honest opinions. When they do, don't defend yourself. It will be tempting to respond, but don't give in to temptation. Instead, listen to their advice and think on it. If multiple people notice that you tend to make the same sort of grammatical error or that you overuse a specific word, believe them, and watch for those errors when you edit your work. The “find & replace” function is your friend. Use it to find your common errors and correct them.

It's true, much can be done on your own. Tutorial videos and Indie help groups can be found with a simple online search. Join some groups, and read what participants have to say. Read articles on blogs and websites. Watch tutorial publishing videos. Take some time to learn a little bit each day or even once a week. One of the beauties of self publishing is that you are not restricted by someone else's deadlines.

Here is a final piece of advice. Watch out for piranhas. There are companies out there who prey on authors' fears. They advertise high quality package deals in order to help authors get published. STEER CLEAR! There is a big difference between paying for a service, such as editing, and paying to become a published author. A friend of mine published through iUniverse http://www.iuniverse.com/  and lost a great deal of money in the process. What did she get for her money? A number of paperback and hardcover copies of her book and a bunch of overpriced postcards and bookmarks. What was the downside? She had difficulty connecting with agents by phone, cannot set the price of her own books (even though their site says they have a non-exclusivity agreement), and she had a terrible time getting them to use the cover image she wanted, a photo she had taken herself. What's worse, when I pointed out editing errors in one of her books, the company refused to publish an updated version even though their editors had clearly failed, big time.

An FYI for anyone who is considering self publishing. You do not have to pay anyone to publish your books. Anyone can publish their ebooks for free through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you prefer one stop, Smashwords is a free way to publish your ebooks and have them distributed in all formats. After publishing through Smashwords, your book will show up at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Itunes, Apple Store, etc. What's more, most of these outlets will pay authors anywhere from 35% - 70% in royalties. There are also a number of ways to publish your book as a paperback. This also costs you nothing. I use CreateSpace which is affiliated with Amazon, but there are others as well. Don't be afraid of a poor formatting job. There are video tutorials and books to help you at all of these outlets. These are provided free of charge; you have only to look for them. And once uploaded, you get to preview your book before it goes live to the world.

If you have a great story or a work of non fiction that you want to share with the world, don't be afraid to do so. There will be highs and lows as you travel this winding path, but it's both worth it and affordable.

If you enjoyed S.L. Wallace's guest post, you may also enjoy reading her post, “Indie Writing Tips” at: http://crossroadsofhumanity.blogspot.com/2012_12_01_archive.html

Links:

Official website - http://www.slwallace.com

Blog - http://crossroadsofhumanity.blogspot.com/

Facebook author page - https://www.facebook.com/author.slwallace

Facebook fan page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Reliance-on-Citizens/269905359690713

Here are S.L. Wallace' published novels - click on the covers for more details and to buy

It’s been a hard week here in Hong Kong – it is nearly the height of the summer now, so very hot.

My friends and family in the UK are always complaining about the economy, the weather, the politicians, the bad TV, the expensive restaurants and the poor service everywhere – and then about the economy again.

I do consider myself lucky to live in Hong Kong.  The economy is strong and people generally (expats and locals) have a much more positive attitude to life, the universe and everything.

As a writing community we are also lucky.  Many famous writers live here, some teach in on the creative writing programmes of the Universities.  There are a couple of active writers groups who are both supportive and informative.

Most writers I know here adopt the J.K. Rowling model – writing in starbucks!  Living spaces here are very expensive – and very small and cramped, so the coffee shops are full of students (in Hong Kong students are VERY diligent) doing their homework – businessmen having meetings – and the occasional writer.

I guess Hong Kong achieved notoriety for a few short days recently when Edward Snowden stayed here while shopping around for asylum.  He stayed at the Mira hotel – a hotel I visit regularly, but I did not see him.  

Now that the giant rubber duck (see picture) has gone from Victoria Harbour there is not really much exciting going on here.

Oh well, back to the writing.  I have started on the second novel in my ‘Asian Intrigue’ series.  Did you know that a lot of gold is smuggled out of the Philippines and ends up in China (via the Hong Kong)? Well, there is – and my story is about that, and the surprising spy agencies involved and the unsavoury characters they use to achieve their questionable objectives.

In the meantime, my relaunched novel Deadly Election now has more than 20 reviews – an amazing total in so short a time. Here are some brief details of the book – click the cover to go to the Amazon page:

Last week, in a prelude to the relaunch of my book ‘Deadly Election’ – set in the Philippines, I gave you an insight into some of the more unsavoury aspects of this struggling third world country.
My experiences there gave me the basis for my novel - it is based on characters I knew and events I either experienced or heard about.  I am struggling hard to shed my previous life, that of a lawyer – but sometimes I cannot help looking at things through legal eyes. 

For those of you who are used to my usual lighter, even frivolous posts - they will be back next week - promise!

The congested Philippine roads are clogged up with strange vehicles of all sorts, from large trucks and buses to ‘jeepneys’ – small, decorated minibuses (they are so called because the original ones were made from old American army Jeeps left behind at the end of WW2) and tricycles – bicycles with sidecars – cheap transport between local points.  There are many potholes and cracks in the roads, as they are made from substandard materials and hardly ever repaired.

This combination results in frequent accidents, and there are two practices which I have seen locally applied.  The first is that, if a foreigner is involved, the foreigner pays – whether or not they are at fault, because they can afford to (Provincial Philippinos will always assume a foreigner is rich).

The second practice is somewhat more sinister. If, while driving, you hit and injure someone (and no one is around) – it is better to hit them again and finish the job.  Courts will only award damages for immediate expenses – no payments will be made for ‘future loss of earnings’ or ‘emotional suffering’.   In effect, this means that it is probably much cheaper to pay for a funeral than to pay long term medical expenses for an injured person.  It is sad, but it is common practise.

Ok, on to a more pleasant subject – my new book.  Deadly Election will re - launch in the next week or so.  I need some helpful people to read and review my book – and post their reviews on Amazon and other sales site  – As well as my undying gratitude, you will get a signed paperback copy of my book and any assistance I can give you in marketing your own books or services.  Please email me – arthurcrandon@yahoo.com

Just as a teaser – here are a few words from the prologue to the book:

As Virgil entered the cave, the crate slipped from his grasp, he stumbled to his knees. The sudden pain in his left side sapped his remaining energy, his emaciated old body crumpled onto the dusty stones.  A trail of blood seeped out from under him – the close range shot had shattered his kidney and punctured his lung. 

        Kodama, the young officer, pointed his Nambu pistol at one of the younger men cowering in the corner. 

        “You!  Pick it up.”

        The lad scrambled forward to take Virgil’s place in an effort to stay alive, at least for a few more minutes. Breath came in short, painful gasps for Virgil, but he could see what was going on around him.  The screams of his youngest daughter, Racquel filled the air. ...............................

You will have to wait for another week to read more

Don’t forget to register (over there on the right – I am developing lots of exciting products and ideas for my subscribers)

Please follow me on Twitter - @arthurcrandon - and, like me on Facebook - www.facebook.com/arthurcrandonauthor

Happy reading and writing.  See you next week.

As usual – I cannot finish without the Pussycat Pics – today I have some of their friends as well.

In a couple of weeks I will re launch my thriller novel – Deadly Election.  It is set in the Philippines. I thought I would devote a blog post to some interesting things about these unique Islands – and why I set my first novel there.

I love the islands, and the people – but I hate the few, richer and more powerful people whose actions and policies keep the people poor and subservient, and seek to impoverish any foreigner, especially those foolish enough to try to do business there.  Those who resist extortion and bribery are often forced to flee or, if they are not quick enough, may be killed.  The police are so corrupt and badly equipped there is little chance that any killer will be brought to justice.  Until recently, if you became a police officer in Manila you had to buy your own gun, I am not sure if that is still the case.

Many International institutions generally recognise that the rule of Law is almost non-existent, with many cases lasting ten or twenty years, and usually being decided in favour of whoever can offer the highest bribe to the judge.

They have a crazy legal concept of ‘reconsideration’.  If you disagree with a civil court judgement – instead of appealing to a higher court, you can ask the SAME court to RECONSIDER the matter – and see if they got it right the first time! How ridiculous.  It is, of course, just an exercise to allow either side to ‘persuade’ the judge to change his/her mind with financial inducements.

Politics is equally shambolic. It is a democracy – everyone is free to vote – and everyone is free to sell their vote!  When I last lived in the Province the cost of a vote was 1,000 – 1,500 pesos - $24 - $36, and that meant a lot to poor families. That was five years ago, but if things have changed it seems to me it is only for the worse.

Philippine politicians do not have policies.  Elections are run on personalities only – and the result will not even depend on having a pleasing personality – it will depend on who your family is.  Political Dynasties abound more in the Philippines than anywhere else.

The previous President languishes in jail after a botched attempt to leave the country.  She is charged among other things with corruption, the same as several of her predecessors.  But, I do not think she should worry.  Immediately after a previous President was found guilty of corruption she pardoned him - he is the Mayor of Manila now. – who said crime does not pay!

If you have had a bad experience in the Philippines – please do get in touch with me – I intend to publish an anthology of ‘horror’ stories.

Ok, back to the lighter side.  The cats have been missing for a couple of weeks – there have been complaints! – here are a few funnies to lighten the mood.  Please do subscibe for my newsletter – the box is on the right.  I will be offering subscribers freebies, goodies and offers over the next few weeks.  Don’t miss out on the blog or the free stuff!  

Please follow me on Twitter - @arthurcrandon - and, like me on Facebook - www.facebook.com/arthurcrandonauthor

Happy reading and writing.  See you next week.

Do you read Dan Brown?  I am not embarrassed to say that I read his books and enjoy them very much.  I came across an article in the upmarket Daily Telegraph in the U.K. last week which has prompted me to write this post.  The article is very funny and worth a read, but it made me think (a not too frequent occurrence).

Every one of his books has been panned by the critics, yet he is now maybe the most commercially successful writers still working (ok, sorry J.K.R, maybe the second most successful one).

The critics have said his work is clumsy, ungrammatical, and repetitive. They say it is full of unnecessary tautology. They ridiculed his use of mixed metaphors and said his imagery is nonsensical.

Many of the same criticisms – and many more - have, rightly, been made of my early work. There have been many times I have been disheartened, and have doubted my own ability to write decent books.  Much more qualified and experienced academic writers have pointed out the deficiencies in my work – and they are right.  But then, I will get an email or a tweet from someone saying how much they have enjoyed my book, and when will I write another one, or that it would make a good film.

I would not consider myself to be a brilliant writer, but I am well educated, and thoughtful in my work.  I do my readers the courtesy of having my books professionally edited and thoroughly checked before I publish – they are discerning customers and this is the very least that any serious writer should do.

I have a law degree, and my writing is, I believe, generally acceptable and readable – I have no illusions – I will never win a literary prize.  If I can write books that people enjoy that will be more than enough for me.

If I have to choose between impressing a few critics and giving millions readers an enjoyable reading experience there is no contest.

I will be relaunching my book, Deadly Election in a couple of weeks – if you would like a free copy please register to receive my blog over on the right of this page.  I will keep you updated with progress.

It will help me if you can support me by following me on twitter https://twitter.com/arthurcrandon  and liking my fanpage on facebook  https://www.facebook.com/ArthurCrandonAuthor?ref=hl – and please do reply to this blog with your own views – I love to read them.

Here is the link the the article about Dan Brown I referred to above;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/10049454/Dont-make-fun-of-renowned-Dan-Brown.html

I hope you enjoy the funny pics.  Regular readers will be expecting them, I try to just raise a smile or give you a positive thought – I hope it works.  No cats this week - they wanted a rest - back next week.  See you soon.   Arthur Crandon.

I have been on Twitter now for nearly a year, and I have to thank twitter for allowing me to broadcast my insanity to my growing band of mainly loyal, always friendly, and sometimes normal followers – and all for free.  We must never forget that twitter is a free service when we criticize them, but, as I see it the ’blue bird of happiness’ does not always deliver.

Here are the three things I either do not understand or hate most about the miniscule avian.

Number One. “ Visit this site to buy 10,000 followers for $27”  Twitter rules say that this is not allowed – yet my tweet stream is clogged up with hundreds of sexy girls with unpronounceable names offering to do this for me.  I am sure Twitter could easily stop this is they wanted to – it must clog up their systems too.  For those of you who are not aware, these are fake accounts produced by robot machines.  They get shut down after a while as Twitter realizes what they are, but surely it would be far easier to tackle the problem at its root!

Number Two.  Every day I follow most of the people who have followed me overnight there are always a few that, when I click ‘follow’ it changes to ‘pending’ and gives me a message that the follower must approve my follow first.  Huh?  They followed ME First?  Can anyone explain this?

Number Three.  I am a shy and retiring individual who is easily hurt (?).  Sometimes I will try to follow another writer or a service and get a message that I have been Blocked from following them!  I go to their profile, they seem like nice people, but I do not know them and have not, to y knowledge upset them – why would they block me? – and before you ask I am NOT one of those people who keep following and unfollowing people.  Once I follow you – you are permanently followed

I love Twitter, and despite the above I enjoy the interactions and I am grateful for the friendships i have developed .  If anyone knows the answers to any of the questions above, I would be grateful to be enlightened.  If you do not want to make a public post, please email me on arthurcrandon@yahoo.com.

Finally, for more of my offbeat ramblings please do ‘like’ my facebook page  - arthurcrandonauthor  (I am not going to criticise FB – they put you in FB jail far too easily!) and follow me on Twitter - @arthurcrandon.

To lighten the load and ease the stress, various furry pics are here again.  Enjoy.  – Until next time.

It has been fourteen days since my last blog.  I am so sorry – I have been stricken down by the most horrendous influenza / pneumonia / chronic infection known to man.  My girlfriend says it was only a cold, but what does she know.

I have a sick note, please request a copy if you need it.

Anyway, I am back now – and rushing to finish the rewrite of my book.  Thank you for those of you who commented on my new cover – everything is ready now – except me. I need maybe another two weeks to finish the re-write and format the book – watch this space.

Ok, it’s time for my weekly rant.

Shock Horror – Amazon stops accepting books with less than 2,500 words!  My view may not be popular among some, and I am certainly ‘old-fashioned’ in many ways –but it will be interesting to see if anyone agrees with me.

I am squarely on Amazons side in this. How can anyone call less than 2,500 words a ‘book?’  It might be a pamphlet, a leaflet, a brochure, a flyer – but surely not a book.

With all the books now being offered by Amazon, Smashwords and others – that have not gone through any quality control at all certain standards need to be encouraged.

There is a growing disquiet within the reading and writing community about the quality of books on offer – be they free or paid for.  Bad book cover designs, bad formatting, and simple spelling and grammar mistakes. These works are damaging the reputations of competent and professional authors who try hard to do the job properly.

We all complain about the actions of Amazon and other online sellers and their cavalier attitude, but I think we cannot deny that they have in fact done us a great service – I, for one, would not be published without them – Thank you Amazon. Thank you Smashwords.

We cannot expect these commercial organisations to consider the quality of the work before it goes up on their site – this is something that we, as a writing community, have to do.  There is plenty of advice and training out there – for free – I strongly encourage any new author to get advice, opinions and help from others, if they wish their book to stand any chance of commercial success or just personal satisfaction.

I do appreciate that there is a trend towards shorter works, flash fiction etc, some of which are well thought out and excellent reading, but I am sure a writer of a 500 word flash fiction piece would not call the result a ‘book.’

I have started a twitter account for readers to follow progress, get updates, exclusive offers – signed paperbacks, competitions etc. (what fun!). Still working on it, but it’s there - Please follow – https://twitter.com/DeadlyElection

Also, if you have not yet done so, please ‘like’ my fb page   www.facebook.com/arthurcrandonauthor  it is about to undergo a major revamp – again, you will get much inside info, giveaways etc.

Furry animals again litter my work, to lift the spirits and distract your attention from the mediocre writing – until next week - Arthur