March - madness made real!

This is a really lovely post to be able to write and upload. Those of you who might be dipping into these posts (and I know that I have a few visitors to the site so I choose to believe that at least a couple might read these missives from me) will know that I've been struggling with trying to convert my poetry from Word/PDF into a digital format where it can be sold via an online retailer.

I'm tech-savvy. No, really, I Am. I know Linux, Raspbian, Windows and Mac OS' and have built dozens of computers and refurbished even more PCs and laptops. The hardware and software within these technical marvels hold little mystery for me; and yet finding a way to convert PDFs into eBook formats that keep all of the formatting I have set the poem in has eluded me.

Why is this important to me? It always has been. I've always wanted the words I write to be placed in the way I 'see' them in my mind when the poem takes form. For me, the format that the poem appears on the page (whether squiggles on paper or screen) is incredibly important. Every piece of software I tried, free or trial for a paid for app; all took the original formatting and ruined it. To my OCD temperament this was unacceptable. I want the words to appear as they do on the page. Nothing less.

I eventually stumbled across the Kindle Text Book Creator, which has been perfect for my needs. Thus, I have converted several of my books into a Kindle friendly format and released them into the wild via the Kindle Store as of this month. All are available around the £1.99 mark and are in the Kindle Store right now (so what are you waiting for?).   

Thus far, 'Poems of the Past', 'Silent As Sleeping' (with a new front cover which is different from the printed version), 'The UnderTow SongBook' and my latest collection 'Empty Boats' are now available. 

An explanation - 'UnderTow' was the project I was involved in with a work colleague (Keith Melhuish). The Song Book has all of the lyrics that I wrote for the music Keith was able to create, seemingly everyday. These songs are mostly completed but not readily available; the words are. Some of the lyrics are a collaboration between myself and Keith, and this is noted where appropriate.

'Silent As Sleeping' was always meant to be the first collection I published, but like most things in a human life, things did not go to plan. This collection has its roots in December 1988, when my Father suddenly passed away. He went into hospital on a Sunday and died on the Thursday. This was an awful loss for my 26 year-old self and ever since then I've been adding to a collection of poems in the 'Silent As Sleeping' strand.

At some point this will be followed by 'Also Now Sleeping', another in the 'Sleeping' thread, which records the sudden death of my Mother in 2013. This is taking shape, but the process may take a while (though not as long as it did for my Father).

My latest collection ('Reflections in the Mirror)' is ongoing and I'm using a different format for this one. The poems are sorted into th​e months they were written in, and further sorted in date order. I'll add a few photographs where relevant and if they are any good, and I aim to publish it in early 2017.

I am also revisiting my short stories and getting some ready for a book of their own. Unusually for me, I have no current title for this work; interesting as I always have a title in my mind; but at this time one eludes me. One will come, in time. I am sure of it. 

My Kindle author page is here at amazon.com/author/alan_mitchell should you wish to visit it. It's not cmpleted but at least it is started!

So, I now have my work in both paper and digital formats and a wider digital presence and I hope that you might choose to dip a toe into the poetry world I inhabit....

Take Care, keep reading..