“A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011, Japan Earthquake – A Foreigner’s Perspective” (4th Edition) Now Available!

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e-mail, earthquake, fourth edition, Fukushima, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, grammar, Great East Japan Earthquake, humanity, Koriyama, March 11 2011 earthquake, nonfiction, nuclear crisis, nuclear meltdown, photos, punctuation, revised story, To Sleep in the Ground, tsunami, writing

Lessons learned from writing and editing my first novel To Sleep in the Ground motivated me to revisit my older stories.  A Day of Horror:  The March 11, 2011, Japan Earthquake is my only nonfiction book and the very first book that I self-published.

And was I ever green!  The old cliché that ‘the more you write, the more you learn’ (or something like that) is true.  I cleaned up the grammar and punctuation, and eliminated many redundancies in the story.  The fourth and latest edition is by far the best version of the book.  It’s a better reading experience overall.

The book contains personal e-mails that I wrote to family and friends in America, keeping them updated on the situation in Japan in the days, weeks and months following the initial quake. Photos of the damage to the city in Japan where I live are included, as are photos of one of the port cities devastated by the ensuing tsunami.

If you are interested in how the events of that day unfolded and what it was like to experience the fourth largest earthquake in recorded human history, as well as one of the worst nuclear disasters the modern age has seen, then I encourage you to check it out.  I hope that you find it informative and educational.  All of my books are available through Amazon.

In these volatile times of natural and man-made threats to our existence, parallels can be drawn between current events and the disasters and crisis of the past.  Lessons can be learned.

Thanks for reading,

Brad

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The DiVacci Curse…Now Revised and Republished!

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Creepy, Ghost Story, Ghosts, gothic, haunted house, haunted mansion, Horror, new edition, revised story, Scary, short story, spooky, The DiVacci Curse, vengeful ghosts, writing

I’m happy to announce that my story The DiVacci Curse has been revised.  The latest edition is available on Amazon.  As mentioned in last week’s post, I had some spare time after publishing my first novel and decided to revisit my short story (the first bit of fiction that I published).

The plot remains intact, but I cleaned up aspects of the narrative and got rid of many unnecessary adverbs and repetitive words.  The story is polished and the pacing flows more smoothly.  I think that the overall readability is better, too.  I hope that readers find it scarier, darker and more enjoyable.

Thanks for reading and please check out the link below!

The 8th Anniversary of the East Japan Earthquake

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A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake-A Foreigner's Perspective, Climate Change, climatologists, e-book, e-book price reduction, earthquake, Eastern Tohoku, environment, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Global Warming, humanity, Japan, March 11 2011 earthquake, meltdown, meteorologists, Mother Nature, nuclear crisis, nuclear meltdown, Progress, radiation, reconstruction, recycle, The 8th Anniversary of the East Japan Earthquake, The Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, writing

I deliberately avoid posting about politics on social media.  I’m not qualified to talk about climate change or global warming, or what impact humanity has upon the environment. I’ll leave that to the climatologists, meteorologists and scientists of the world. The city where I live in Japan has a good recycling program and I do my part. In this post, I’m not going to share my personal views on the topic of whether or not climate change is real. My opinions would be inappropriate and irrelevant.

What I do know, based on personal experience, is that on March 11, 2011, Mother Nature had her say, and had a lot to say, when she unleashed her fury upon the Eastern Tohoku region of Japan. I witnessed the fourth largest earthquake in recorded human history. I live thirty-six miles west of the site of one of the world’s largest nuclear meltdowns. I lived it. I was terrified by it. I am still haunted by it. I will probably never be free from the memory of it in some capacity.

The Earth doesn’t care how we feel about climate change. It does what it wants to do, when it wants to do it, and it doesn’t give a damn what we mere humans think of it. It makes the rules and we have to suffer the consequences; good or bad, instigated by us or not. We are at its mercy. It’s the price we pay to live on this wondrous ball of life rotating on its axis in space.

If you’re interested in knowing more about the events of March 11, 2011, and its impact on the environment and the people of southern Tohoku, from someone who was there, then I respectfully encourage you to read my book. It’s available through Amazon in most countries where Amazon operates. I recently decreased the price of the book rather significantly, but Amazon retains the right to fluctuate the pricing when necessary. Thank you for understanding. You can access the book directly through the link provided on the “My Books” page of this blog.  My humble thanks to all who have already purchased and read the book. Your kindness and consideration is truly appreciated and will not be forgotten.

Happy New Year, an Important Notice and an Update!

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authors, book, editing, illustration, important notice, new, Progress, Publishing, revising your unpublished e-book, update, writing

Happy New Year!  I hope that 2019 began well for everyone.

I’ll first get the formalities out of the way.

Officially, this blog, Brad’s Books, is no longer a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.  All product links associated with the program have been removed from this blog.  Although, products that may be available for purchase on Amazon, that is, books and movies, etc. may still be mentioned in this blog.  However, no links or banners to, or images of, these products will be provided; only information about the products may be available in this blog in the form of recommendations, reviews, etc.

The images and links for the books that I have written, as they appear on the My Books page of this blog, will remain, since they are not affiliated with the Amazon Associates Program.  Thank you for your cooperation and for understanding.

O.k., with that out of the way, I would like to happily let everyone know that the prices for my non-fiction e-book and my fiction e-short story have dropped.  I feel that the new price adjustments are more appropriate and will hopefully make my books more appealing, and will encourage, not discourage, potential readers.  Amazon still reserves the right to fluctuate the pricing, but the new price points, in general, are quite lower than before.  Thank you for your consideration.  “Yoroshiku, onegaishimasu!” as the Japanese say.

I’m thrilled to announce that I’m closer than ever to finishing my first novel!  A pair of eyes, other than my own, are now reading the story and critiquing it.  I am getting very positive feedback from the source, who is also making some wonderful suggestions about how I can improve the overall readability and flow of the book, (chapter arrangement, etc.).  It’s valuable insight that is much appreciated.

Year-End Update

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Amazon, authors, book, Buddhist, Christian, Happy New Year, Holidays, Japan, Merry Christmas, Progress, Publishing, Shinto, Short stories, writing

Well, it’s been a whirlwind end to the year here in Japan.

I haven’t been able to pay as much attention to finishing my novel as I had hoped, but I manage to chip away at it here and there when breaks in daily life and work allow.  Alas, my self-imposed year-end deadline for publication will not be met.  On the bright side, my school will be closed for the New Year’s holiday, so hopefully I’ll have a few days, at least, to fuss over the book.

I’m happy to announce that I have reduced the price of both my non-fiction e-book, and my fiction e-short story on Amazon.  Amazon still reserves the right to fluctuate the pricing, give or take, however.  You can access direct links for both books from this blog.

New Year’s is a big deal here in Japan.  Many businesses will be closed for several days on average, starting on or around New Year’s Eve.

My school is open today, Christmas day, because Christmas day is a regular business day here in Japan.  Less than 1% of the population of Japan is Christian.  Most are Shinto and Buddhist, so the Japanese celebrate Christmas differently than the west.  It’s strictly a secular celebration here with no religious meaning.

Please have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Best wishes for a safe, happy, healthy and peaceful 2019.

Brad

March 11, 2011 (Reblogged from my Facebook page).

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7th anniversary, A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake-A Foreigner's Perspective, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Fukushima Prefecture, honor, Japan, March 11, March 11 2011 earthquake, memorial, nuclear meltdown, Progress, radiation, remember, The Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, writing

Here in Japan we remember all those who lost their lives in the East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami seven years ago today.

I ask your prayers for all of the victims and their families and friends who remain and mourn their loss. Some people lost their entire families on that day.

I was thankfully spared the horrors of the tsunami that day because I live farther inland in Fukushima prefecture. But, I remember the earthquake well (too well) and the subsequent radiation crisis at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant which I live roughly 36 miles from.

Thankfully, radiation levels have dropped dramatically in the past seven years, but the threat of long-term radiation exposure continues to haunt me and plague my psyche.

I wrote a book about my personal experiences during the earthquake and nuclear crisis. It’s available in e-book form on Amazon in the U.S., Japan and Europe, etc.  You can access the link from the “My Books” section of this blog or search for it on Amazon in your country.

Koriyama (where I live) and Fukushima prefecture in general are recovering, slowly but surely. However, a lot of work still needs to be done. The courage and dignity of the Tohoku people is incredible to behold. We are all in this together and have been walking hand in hand on the path to recovery.

Please keep the people of Northeastern Japan in your thoughts and prayers today…and always.

The Paralympic Games: Emotional, Motivational and Inspirational!

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appreciation, athletes, authors, Brave, Challenging, compassion, Courageous, Emotional, hope, humility, Inspirational, March 9-18, Motivational, Paralympics, PyeongChang Paralympic Games, respect, sympathy, The 2018 Paralympic Games, tolerance, writers, writing

As many writers know, inspiration for writing can come from anywhere.  Of course, finding inspiration for new story ideas can be tough.  Maintaining motivation and inspiration for stories we may be currently writing isn’t easy either.  It can be a two-way street.  Writing is challenging.  Becoming a successful writer is even more challenging.

I encourage everyone to watch the 2018 Paralympic Games from Pyeongchang, South Korea from March 9th to the 18th if you can.

When we watch the Olympics, we all cheer and support the athletes from our respective countries, but with the Paralympics nationality doesn’t matter.  All of the Paralympic athletes are winners and heroes regardless of whether they win a medal or not.  They remind us of our common humanity, rather than our individual nationality.

The challenges they face on a daily basis, in other words the day-to-day tasks that many of us take for granted, are beyond comprehension.  Factor in the effort that it takes for them to make it to the Paralympics in spite of those daily challenges, and it is a truly remarkable achievement.