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Frank Buchan
I am a computer programmer by trade, and own a business that absorbs between 200 and 300 hours a month; I have a wife and young daughter, and for two days a week to I get to be Mister Mum. Those ar...view moreI am a computer programmer by trade, and own a business that absorbs between 200 and 300 hours a month; I have a wife and young daughter, and for two days a week to I get to be Mister Mum. Those are the best two days of my week, and being Mister Mum is about the only thing I need to be good at any more. I am further blessed in that working for myself, I can be available for my daughter the other five days when required.
I also have five cats, all of them demanding attention whenever the mood strikes them, which is expressed with a vengeful disregard for me that only a cat could express while still retaining its sense of dignity – all other creatures would be deeply ashamed of themselves. Oh, how I wish I were a cat. (The three dogs are much kinder to me, but also rather demanding.
Though I write obsessively, life being what it is, I haven’t enough time to dedicate to making the stories letter-perfect. Editorial work falls by the wayside too often, and what I end up with are, at best, rough gems. The first book I posted here was priced as an experiment, and will be free if I can ever proof it again, since my gut feel is that eBooks will never be an economic force in my lifetime, at least for writers. All other books will be free, because it is the only way I can forgive the inability to proof them as they deserve. It reduces the sting of knowing there are some errors in them; and it recognizes that, realistically, few people will actually pay for any product if they can get a similar substitute for free. I have no illusions about my talents as a writer, and know that while I am better than some, I am never going to be the best -- that honour will befall someone new every few hours.
I appreciate hearing from readers who have the ability to be ruthless as required, and kind as inspired. Anyone who wants to, can contact me via twitter or my blog or email (frank.buchan@gmail.com, and make the subject line include the word Smashwords so it doesn't get tossed to spam). If you wish a personal reply, combine an email address with some patience and I will do my best. I do ask for polite communications, though. If you're so angry you need to swear at someone, or belittle someone, feel free to direct that toward the actual cause of your grief – my time is too short to expend it fighting pointless battles with strangers and those types of communications end up in my junk mail where they belong. That I even have to write that reminds me how unpleasant contacts made via the Internet can be.
Some day, perhaps, I will win a lottery and have the resources to seek editorial perfection in my work; but until then I will still publish what I can, because it is a compulsion that cannot be denied.view less