Happy Holidays...from all of us to all of you...

Something about Gordy...(you didn't think he was a virgin, did you?)

The Xcargo Series

A bit about the explosive-cargo (Xcargo) books...

a bit about love, oz, and Peter H. Salus

just a video about all the things in the title...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hRgqCT7WWg&feature=youtu.be

Beautiful Volcanoes, Ugly Politics

Nothing commercial. Not plugging any books. Just a little video meditation on beautiful volcanoes and ugly politics...

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh-zfCZQc1JJYuQ6HIVfLvA

Something more on Halloween...this time not so silly

Again, something on Halloween, and something about the book by Robert Folkner, Pure Theatre of Cruelty...(the link to which is below).

But this time, not so silly, not so funny...

Link to Pure Theatre of Cruelty: http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Theatre-of-Cruelty-ebook/dp/B00CTCDCSO

Something silly for Halloween...plus a good book.

Like it says, something very silly for Halloween. Plus a link a very good, very spooky book, Robert Folkner's Pure Theater of Cruelty, which will be free from Tuesday, Oct 28, through Saturday, Nov 1, 2014.

The hotlink's below the video.

DA LINK

Robert Folkner's Pure Theatre of Cruelty
http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Theatre-of-Cruelty-ebook/dp/B00CTCDCSO

biology, biopunk, life...and death

Some rather darker thoughts about life, biopunk fiction, and  Anastasia Leach's Prometheans...

And link to Prometheans...

http://www.amazon.com/Prometheans-ebook/dp/B00C015WFK/

A giant fish tank, a free e-book, and a quick correction

A quick correction for our dimwit in chief...

Once again,  Anastasia Leach's biopunk/cyberpunk collection will be FREE on amazon from Thursday, Oct 23, 2014, to Monday, Oct 27, 2014. And the link is here:

http://www.amazon.com/Prometheans-ebook/dp/B00C015WFK/

More video weirdness...this time at the Breaking Bad dam, and about a very cool book

This week's video weirdness is brought to you from the John B. Robert (a.k.a., Breaking Bad) dam and concerns a very cool book, Prometheans by Anastasia Leach. You can see it at the link below...and, it will be FREE from Oct 23 to Oct 26, 2014

Here's the silly video from our very silly editor-in-chief:

And here's the link to the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Prometheans-ebook/dp/B00C015WFK/

A Man, A Free e-Book, A Giant Chicken - more video wierdness

And now, from our fearless leader, a really silly video...plus a free e-book

And the link to the Book in Question:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MRIZUIA

What's Free This Week -- Crash Flux and MJT

Some video weirdness from our grand high poopah...

and two books that are or will be FREE (links below)

The Link To Crash Flux 1: Welcome to the Machine (FREE now) -- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O70XWD6

And the link to Excargo95Q1, A Play's The Thing (Free from Oct 15 to Oct 19, 2014) -- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MRIZUIA

What's new this week...words from our fearless (ha) leader

And the link to Crash Flux 1: Welcome To The Machine is here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O70XWD6

FREE for Friday

Here's what's going to FREE on Friday. Michael Jay Tucker's Explosive-Cargo Q3 (1994): And you thought it couldn't get worse... will be free on Friday, 3 Oct.

So check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MP5XXA2

Free for Friday, and some words from our oh-so-fearless leader

Our (ha) fearless leader gives us some encouraging words...

The book he can't remember is his own (sigh) Explosive-Cargo Q3 (1994): And you thought it couldn't get worse...

We'll put a link to it in the next post.

Re.Doubt3! And it's FREE for five days!!!

Okay, Re.Doubt3 has just gone live!

What's that you say? Well, we answer, Re.Doubt is Belfort & Bastion's little literary magazine. And we've just done issue number three.

This time around we've got poetry from Carol Fulton and W.L. Kaserpek, fiction from Robert Folkner and Victor Storiguard, non-fiction from Peter H. Salus, and terrific nature photography by DeWayne Fisher.

AND best of all, it will be free to download from Amazon from 24 Sep to 28 Sep, 2014!

So check it out while it's on special! Just click on the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NOATZ40http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NOATZ40

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NOATZ40

What's Free on Friday?

And still more Freebies!

What's going to be free this Friday (Aug 18, 2014)?

We've got another Xcargo collection coming your way. For one day, and one day only, the very first of Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargos, Explosive-Cargo 94: The Best Of The Beginning,  will be free on Amazon.

So, on Friday, check it out here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MOPKU54

What's Free This Week

So what's free this week?

Funny you should ask! From Aug 26 to Aug 28(2014), volume 2 of Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo columns can be had, for FREE, from Amazon. You can see the book here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MP5XXA2http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MP5XXA2


These date back to the 1994 and include some of the funniest and wildest of Tucker's writings.

So drop by and pick up a copy. It's free, so you got nothin' to lose :-)

And while you're waiting, check out these other cool prints from FAA

As you know, we've just begun our own new Fine Art America gallery.

We've only got a few images there just yet, but while you're waiting, have a glance at these fine New Mexico-themed prints from other artists on the site. We hate to toot the horn of our rivals, but there's some darn good stuff here:

new mexico prints

Our new Fine Art America Page!

You know that B&B is now publishing graphics as well as text works. Well, now something even more exciting!

We've got our own Fine Art America gallery!

Check it out here: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/belfortbastion-images.html

From this site, you can buy prints, canvas prints, and all manner versions of our artists' graphics. So head on over today and have a look.

We're just getting started, so there are only a couple of artists on display. But come back often. We've got loads of stuff coming!

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/belfortbastion-images.html

Free on Aug 17 and Aug 18

What's free from Belfort & Bastion right now! Well, we've got some Explosive-Cargo for you!

"Clueless CEOs, egomaniacal engineers, dim-witted trade press hacks, Proftalk, Depth Charges, BERNIE the larcenous (and lecherous) virtual sidekick, Stewdspeak, bobbing for leeches, GATEKEEPIR the ghastly net-denizen …they're back!"

Before blogs, before social networking, before the Web itself…there were "ezines," personal publications emailed to their readers. Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo (Xcargo) was one of the most popular ezines of the 1990s, with a subscriber list of over a 1000 and a pass along readership of maybe ten times that. A wild compendium of comedy, political commentary, tender personal essays, and just plain silliness, Xcargo had fans all over the 'Net.

Belfort & Bastion is delighted to announce that the original Xcargos are now available in book form. Explosive-Cargo 94: The Best Of The Beginnings contains some of the very first Xcargo columns—including the hysterical introduction of BERNIE and the premier of "Depth Charges (the lowest form of explosive-cargo)" as well as Tucker's homage to domestic bliss, "House," and his grieving response to anti-Abortion violence in "Brookline 1994."







And best of all, this first collection of Tucker's Xcargos will be free for download on Aug 17 and Aug 18. So head on over to Amazon and pick up a few spare Cargos!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MOPKU54

Victor Storiguard's in Free and PWYW This Week

What's on the Free and PWYW site this week? Well, let's start with the science fiction of Victor Storiguard, the artiste of the posthuman.

First we have one of Victor's standalone stories, "A Singular Encounter," the tale of a pleasant professor from a "post-apocalypse" future who discovers there never was a real apocalypse …and is nearly murdered for saying so.

Fortunately, she has very powerful friends.

Even if she doesn’t know it.

Then, as a downloadable ebook (available as both kindle and epub), we have The Tower, The Hunger, a much scarier story. Once again, it is set in a near future that has lost contact with its own past. Once again, we have some university professors…but not nice ones this time.

And, worse, they find themselves in possession of a weapon …a transhuman weapon…which could murder the world.

So check out both!

A Singular Encounter
The Tower, The Hunger

The Pay What You Want Site is LIVE!

So now the big day is here! Our PWYW site is up and running!

What's PWYW? That's short for either (depends who you ask) for Pay What You Want or Pay Want You Wish.

Either way, what it means is a brand new model of selling. Here's how it works. You have some service or product you wish to offer the world. It could be something physical and tangible. Or, more likely, it is something digital, like an e-book, or a piece of music, or even a movie.

Rather than set a fixed price, you put it out into the world for free. Anyone who wants it can download it. But, then, you ask the buyer to consider contributing to the artist's well being.

In other words, you let the buyer decide how much a product is worth to them. It might be nothing. Or, it might be $5. Or it might be $500. Whatever. It is entirely up to the consumer.

And that's what we're going to do on our new PWYW page. The e-books and other products on that site will be available for download on a PWYW-basis. You can get them, download them, and then pay exactly what you feel they were worth to you!

Again, that might be $0. Or it might be much more. It is up to you.

Oh, don't get us wrong. We'll always be selling products at fixed prices on Amazon and our regular webpage. But on our PWYW-site, it will be pay what you want or nothing.

Except we hope it won't be nothing  : -)

So, head on over to the new PWYW-site. Check it out! And come back often. We'll be getting in more content soon.

And seriously, if you do like something you see there, please consider slipping the creator a little cash. Think of it as buying a friend a soda on a hot day.

And, in the process, you'll be supporting the arts.

For which we will be eternally grateful.

Da site: https://sites.google.com/site/belfortbastionspwyw/

Stay tuned...big things happening

Like it says, stay tuned. We've got major developments under way.

Wanna hint?

Okay.

Can you say "PWYW?"

A message for the good folks at PayPal

Hello, Paypal!

Can I offer a suggestion for a product? I think it would be great if you had a Pay-What-You-Want (PWYW) button.

I run a teeny-tiny little e-book publishing company, Belfort and Bastion. We've started a new project where-by we offer our customers the ability to pay what they wish for any particular work.

It sounds like a sure fire road to ruin, but strangely enough, it does seem to work. At least about 50% of the time people do pay a little something.

I've rigged up a quick and dirty PWYW button on my own, but is it is very quick and very dirty. I'd love it if I could just download a PWYW button from PayPal.

It seems like it would be easy enough to do. Basically, it would be a minor modification of your existing "Donate" button.

Well, anyway, that's my idea. I'm sure other people have suggested it, but I figure that if I add my voices to those who propose it, y'all might get interested.

cheers
Michael Jay Tucker

Our freebie e-book blowout continues

We're stilling giving away tons of free e-books!

On Wednesday,  July 16, and for one day only, Jerry McMurry's fascinating collection of prose sketches, Ice Cream Counter, will be FREE for the download from Amazon. It is a fun, insightful, and humane work that everyone will enjoy. Do be sure to download it.

It is here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JSCR6NA

Also, on going until July 18, Robert Folkner's reworking of the Faust tale, Something For Everything, is FREE on Amazon. So give this one a look. It is a highly inventive and disturbing exploration of human nature.

It is here: http://www.amazon.com/Something-For-Everything-ebook/dp/B00BC0JKEO

Plus, don't forget, W.L. Kasperek's debut collection of poetry, Lucky Pennies, will be FREE from July 18 until July 22. Well worth the read.

It is here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E7HNCYI

And, finally, if you are a day trader, you'll want this one. Richard Arms book on his new technique of charting, Arms Candlevolume, will be FREE on July 19 and July 20. This one could be important to the Wall Street pro.

It is here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KFX2JTM

And what's free this week—Lucky Pennies!

And we've got more free for you this week. For a start, there's Lucky Pennies, the poetry of W. L. Kasperek.

Ms. Kasperek's works a welcome relief from the rather depressing poetry that is the norm these days. She brings us poems that are by turns vivid, intense, funny, sad, profound and enormously compassionate. She masterfully explores the human condition in the strange new age of our lives today.

So check out this remarkable little collection. It will FREE from July 18 to July 22, 2014. Just head over to Amazon and download from here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E7HNCYI

Free on Amazon this week: Something For Everything

So what Belfort & Bastion e-book will be free this coming week? We've got a scary one for ya.

On July 14 and running through July 18, 2014, (that's Pacific time) Robert L. Folkner's Something For Everything will be available for free. This is a fascinating (if somewhat terrifying) retelling of the Faust tale from the perspective of an American teenager in our grim, post-industrial world.

Be sure to download! Just go to:

       http://www.amazon.com/Something-For-Everything-ebook/dp/B00BC0JKEO

And ask yourself, what would you give up to have everything you always wanted?

Freebies!

Every 90 days, Amazon.com allows its authors and publishers to give away their e-books for periods ranging from a day to five days. Belfort and Bastion, and you, can take advantage of that fact.

We'll be offering selected e-books for $0 at certain pre-determined periods from now on. So, check back here frequently to see what's on offer at no cost!

We're looking forward to sharing with you.

Stay tuned!

So that's our two new authors!

But stay tuned. There's a great deal more to come—both about Messrs. Arms and McMurry, and about B&B!

Until next time, keep reading!

The Stock Market Wizard, and our first foray into hardcopy!

Our next new author is Richard (Dick) Arms.

If you have any experience with the stock market, you probably already know Dick. He's the man who invented the Equivolume system of investment charting and developed the TRIN index.

But he's not done yet! This year, he introduced something completely different, "Arms Candlevolume," a radically new way of looking at price and volume.

The Arms Candlevolume charting technique is almost certain to do as much to revolutionize the technician's craft as Equivolume Charting did, and maybe far more. Arms Candlevolume charts combine the best attributes of Bar Charts, Equivolume Charts and Candlesticks, while providing new and powerful functionality in the process.

And, Mr. Arms has written a short and highly readable book that details the use of Arms Candlevolume charts. The book will be invaluable to both the stock market professional and the sophisticated individual investor.

The book is already available in electronic form on Amazon. But, we've also recently branched out into hardcopy. You can get a printed edition of Arms Candlevolume from our webpage here.

But hurry! Supplies are limited.

ebook: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KFX2JTM

printed copy: http://shop.belfortandbastion.com/Arms-Candlevolume-0001.htm

Meet Jerry James McMurry!

Jerry's one of our newest authors. He tells us that he was born in 1934, in Stillwater Oklahoma, though he adds he was raised mainly on the North side of Chicago. After a number of adventures (including a bout of polio!) he became an engineer and worked for a variety of companies and government agencies in Illinois and California. Though his work has included everything from the development of advanced radars to space-based weapons systems, he says the most fun he's had professionally was working on an "Automatic Mini Rhizotron (a "rhizotron" is a name given by botanists to any device that allows them to view plant roots as they're growing in the soil.)

He brings us two new works. The first of these is The Ice Cream Counter. This is a collection of remarkable little essay/short stories/prose poems in which he explores life from the vantage of a traditional ice cream counter, the kind you find (or used to find) in most drug stores. He used to work in one, he notes, specifically D. B. Dunbar's Drugstore on Chicago's North side.

His ice cream vignettes are fascinating slices of life. In them we meet men and women, some quite remarkable, some quite ordinary. Or, as Jerry seems to hint, maybe the mundane and the amazing are somehow very much alike, with the judgment about which is which left up to the viewer.

His second work is actually the beginning of a series for young adults. Gwendolyn is the first chapter of what we hope will be a long and fabulous series involving the titular character, or, as she calls herself "Gwen."

Gwen thinks she's a pretty ordinary person. She's a high school student. She does well enough in her classes to keep the authorities off her back. She is reasonably popular. Basically, she thinks, she is just like anyone else.

Except…she isn't.

She has, she learns, "a falcon's eyes."

And this will make all the difference in the world.

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JSCR6NA

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J2AUSZG

Good news. Bad News. (But mostly good.)

We've been very, very busy lately. (That's why it has been so long since our last update of this blog. Sorry!)

But, now that the hubbub is dying down to a dull riot, we've got both the proverbial good news and bad news.

Let's do the bad news first and get it out of the way. One of our favorite authors, Tristan Gans, has decided to leave Belfort & Bastion—at least for the moment. He feels he needs to pursue some new opportunities that have suddenly appeared. We can understand that. We don't have to like it, but we understand it.

So, best of luck, Tristan!

Now, let's do the Good News.

We have two new authors and several new books to talk about.

We'll take them one at a time in the next two postings. But, briefly, we've gained the company of essayist and fabulist Jerry James McMurry, and stock market wizard Richard ("Dick") Arms.

We've also done our first hardcopy book!

So, once again, let's take them one at a time.

Happy 4th!

Or, to put it another way, happy birthday America!

And the cover of Arms Candlevolume

And let's not forget the cover of Arms Candlevolume. Here's what our first foray into the world of finance looks like:

 

And don't forget

hardcopy: http://shop.belfortandbastion.com/Arms-Candlevolume-0001.htm

and  ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Arms-Candlevolume-Richard-ebook/dp/B00KFX2JTM/

Our first foray into finance

And now for something completely different!

We have published our first ever non-fiction book on financial analysis, and it is a doozy.

Richard ("Dick") Arms is famed as the inventor of one of the single most important means of stock analysis in use to day, Equivolume Charting, as well as the developer of the TRIN Index.

But he's gone far beyond that. His new technique, Arms Candlevolume, will do as much to revolutionize the technician's craft as Equivolume Charting did, and maybe far more. Arms Candlevolume charts combine the best attributes of Bar Charts, Equivolume Charts and Candlesticks, while providing new and powerful functionality in the process.

And he has written a book about it...which he, to our vast amazement, is actually going to let us publish.

We're doing both a hardcopy and electronic version. To see the hardcopy version go here:
   
    http://shop.belfortandbastion.com/Arms-Candlevolume-0001.htm

And the ebook version is on Amazon here:

    http://www.amazon.com/Arms-Candlevolume-Richard-ebook/dp/B00KFX2JTM/





So check out this title today. Arms Candlevolume is going to be (we're sure) positively illuminating!

Let us remember a great poet

Pulitzer-winning NH poet Maxine Kumin dies at 88

9 hours ago

WARNER, N.H. (AP) — Maxine Kumin, a prolific New England poet and U.S. poet laureate who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for her work "Up Country," has died. She was 88


http://news.yahoo.com/pulitzer-winning-nh-poet-maxine-kumin-dies-88-161010551.html;_ylt=A0LEV12RoPVSoSoAKtJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0NXIwZ3RtBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA1NXSU1DMF8x