The Art of Giving

A strange thought came to me, probably inspired at the subliminal level by something I’d heard or read, that the best way to get is to give. This does not apply, of course, to people to whom possessions, physical, material possessions, are of importance. On the other hand, until an ebook was invented, for writers at least, the problem of giving carried considerable financial burden

Printing + postage of a book to anyone in our large, ocean to ocean to ocean country made giving almost prohibitive. I don’t mean a copy or two for our friends, or for publicity purposes, but hundreds if not thousands of copies to total strangers, who might, just might, enjoy our efforts to entertain them.

As it happens, the very fact that our presents go to total strangers, who, in all probability will never take the trouble to say “thank you” (let alone express their gratitude within the review column), makes the act of giving somehow nobler. Ah… “to give and expect nothing in return…” didn’t someone recommend such an action a long, long time ago?

Alas, for a quite a while a writer, or at least any writer I know, could not afford it. And then, lo and behold, an ebook was born. Now, all who aspire to give can do so without incurring any expense. Of course, by selling the book we would make thousand and thousands of dollars (should we be so lucky), but not making money is not the same as having to advance money one doesn’t have. In other words, one cannot give what one doesn’t have.

I am reminded of an elderly aunt of mine who looked with compassion at a girl suspected of practicing the world’s oldest profession. She looked at her, smiled and said, “She is engaged in a wonderful trade. She has it, she gives it away, and she still has it.”

A little like me, now. I have an ebook, I give it away, and I still have it. I can only hope that my books will turn out to be as popular as the profession of the girl who caught attention of my aunt.

I decided that every week, at least one of my ebooks will be offered for free on Amazon Kindle, or elsewhere. Look for it. It will be yours to keep, with no obligations.

Just promise me, from afar, that you will try to enjoy it, even as I enjoy giving it to you. I will not always tell you which one, and on which day, but the presents will be there every week.

 Just this once, I’ll start you off. Until midnight today, my second historical novel Peter and Paul is free for you to download at Amazon Kindle. Join the many hundreds who already have their copy. Next week, you’ll be on your own.

Enjoy!

My webpage is http://stanlaw.ca.

Ask about FREE downloads at mailto:stan@stanlaw.ca