It’s still Schnitzel!

Do you or your family make any special dishes for the holidays? Nothing’s changed since last week, it’s still schnitzel holding the number one spot on the dinner table! It’s a little odd that such a similar prompt should appear again. Mind you, the last 24 hours fiddling with Wordpress and Jetpack have told me one thing: don’t believe everything an AI tells you. They make things up, not lying; just, well, fairy stories I suppose. After the Cloudflare fiasco last week I’m extremely wary now about following AI advice on navigating my websites.

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Websites are a nightmare!

My new website marcusgoldworthybooks.com is live but I can’t link it into Wordpress right now. But we’ll sort it out tomorrow!

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Another test post

Test post only Test post only xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxccccc

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true-steps.com grows up!

After a week’s labours, my new website is up and running, lots of links to click and direct links to sales in Amazon. Just click on true-steps.com as usual, or click on: marcusgoldworthybooks.com You’ll end up at the new site either way. Have a look around, and feel free to send me comments, it’s been an education building a website. I’ve really learnt bucketloads doing it! If you need any tips, please ask, but my main tip is DON’T DO IT! Ha ha!

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Insomnia

If you didn't need sleep, what would you do with all the extra time? CAMINO….medieval murder mystery! CLICK HERE! As I’ve got older, and noticeably in the last few months, sleep has become a difficult state to achieve. I now exist in a half tired state some days, after waking up at around 2am and not being able to go back to sleep. I used to be a good sleeper, eight hours and no problem getting to sleep. But now? I can usually nod off no problem, but four hours later and I’m awake again.

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Absolutely!

Name your top three pet peeves. The picture above shows what should be done to users of the exclamation “Absolutely”. Shoot ‘em—especially in interviews on TV or radio. It’s like a trigger to me, to stop whatever I’m doing and put my hands around their throat, and squeeze,,. You get my drift. It’s a disgusting affectation and when delivered in a Home Countries snobby put on accent, you’re dead meat in my eyes. Enjoy my blogs? Read CAMINO my novel! Anyway, onto number two in the list of three things guaranteed to raise my blood pressure and turn me into a raving monster:

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A difficult question

Who are your current most favorite people? What a strange question! Who dreams these up? Are today’s favourite people tomorrow’s forgotten heroes? Remember Help for Heroes? Clap for the NHS? I think this is difficult for me to answer because I don’t think like this. When you live in rural isolation, you may only see one or two people a day, so if you value human contact, then everyone is favourite. The media will be a big influence in answering this question for me if we’re talking public figures. Perhaps it’s family or friends then, those close to us emotionally.

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“Walking” is in print!

Finally! After a few false starts and cover printing issues, here it is, the book that started it all: CLICK HERE!Walking Towards Myself Amazon Paperback Check it out by clicking the button, no obligation to buy or anything, unless you like what you see! It’s amazing! This book took since 2004 to be published. I did it originally in ebook format, and it’s still available online in Kindle, but a lot of people have asked for a printed version, so here it is! Have a look, nice Xmas present or a good read if you’re thinking of doing the Camino. Hope you like it! X

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I’m an animal lover!

What are your favorite animals? Enjoy my blogs? Read CAMINO, my new Medieval Murder Mystery! Here’s my number one fan and writing companion, Lily. She’s four and a half years old now, I’ve had her since she was a pupper of twelve weeks. We’re inseparable! Here we are in our favourite spot by the Rayburn in the kitchen, where most of my writing gets done. I can’t bear the cold, having lived in warmer climes for several years. I can’t think straight if I’m cold, let alone write! In fact today I finally gave in and bought a heated gilet.

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I’m a mountain man!

Beach or mountains? Which do you prefer? Why? At 4478m, it’s an impressive rock. I had to rub my eyes the first time I saw it, as it just doesn’t look real. It’s an almost symmetrical pyramid on the border of Switzerland and Italy. If you’ve ever eaten a Toblerone you’ll recognise the familiar shape. LOVE MY BLOGS? Read my book CAMINO Mountains! I love them, the clean air, the vistas, the physical achievement of climbing one. My love of mountains nearly killed me in 1999. In the French Alps on Mont Blanc above Chamonix, near the Aguille du Midi.

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Schnitzel!

What are your family's top 3 favorite meals? Schnitzel wins hands down! It holds the number one spot at our table. Second and third place is up for grabs really, JOIN MY FREE READERS CLUB! A homemade leek and potato soup perhaps, followed by a roast beef dinner. The schnitzel’s position as the number one meal though, is unassailable. With some homemade fries, made with potatoes from the garden. Now my tummy’s rumbling at nearly 2am, the fridge is calling…..

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I’m ‘enry the eighth, I am.

Read my latest book, CAMINO If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why? This guy got away with murder, literally. From 1509 until 1547, as King of England, he made a lot of peoples lives a misery. He died aged 55, had six wives, some he executed. He destroyed the religious system of England and was described as a ‘forceful monarch.’ Why on earth would I want to meet such a monster? Mainly because he sounds so unbelievable. I don’t doubt the historians, it’s just that it’s beyond belief that someone could be so horrible and remain in power.

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100% instinctive!

Do you trust your instincts? Here’s someone who is instinctive, Totally. I’ve learned a lot from her, as much as she has from me. Every Friday we go to Search and Rescue training for dogs. It’s actually more about the handler learning to do something which the dog can do instinctively. The dog can use its senses to find a body in a few weeks, it takes a couple of years for the handler to learn what the dog knows already. The handler has to learn how to guide the dog in a search pattern that covers several square miles.

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Beware the Ides of March.

What's your favorite month of the year? Why? The Ides of March. Roman Emperor Julius Caesar came to a sticky end then, in 44 BCE, around the middle of the month, when its a full moon. The word comes from the Latin, Induare, meaning to divide, and the full moon rising marked the middle of the month in the Roman Calendar. So it wasn’t a particularly good day for Julius Caesar, and the whole horrible thing was immortalised by Shakespeare in the play of the same name. Around the same time comes the Spring Equinox, when the day and night are of equal length.

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Lincoln Cathedral

What is your favorite place to go in your city? Link to Camino—a medieval adventure Once the tallest structure in the world, Lincoln Cathedral was built starting in 1072AD and took 20 years to complete. It is a fabulous and awe inspiring structure, commanding the skyline for many miles. I can see it from our neighbouring village, which is around 20 miles away. One of the true majestic buildings worth visiting in the UK. Back in the time of my last novel in the 13th Century, it must have been like seeing a miracle.

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I don’t bite!

What's the first impression you want to give people? Camino on Amazon—click here! Honestly! I don’t bite! I try to be friendly but it doesn’t always come across that way. Perhaps I spend too much time on my own, and it takes a while for me to reengage with another human being. I don’t do small talk or social pleasantries, or gabble away to fill the void. Like the Finns, silence is golden. I have a sense of humour but my funny bone got chewed on by a small dog as a child, and it grew back a funny shape.

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Camino & Company of Liars

What book are you reading right now? I’m reading two at present: Camino, Marcus Goldworthy and Company of Liars, Karen Maitland. The first is my own novel and the second is another medieval story about the Great Plague. Since I’m currently writing another medieval romp, I tend to immerse myself in the period I’m writing about. Both depend heavily on research, since neither of us as writers were alive in the Middle Ages. Accuracy is important as someone reading will always know a little more about the period than us and delight in showing us our anachronisms.

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Merrie England for me!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Click here for my free Reader Club I’ve visited a few places and even lived away from England for several years. They all have their charms, be it the climate or the economy, but I always return to England. I freely admit that sometimes my relationship with England gets a bit sour and difficult, but we always seem to patch it up. With a few exceptions it is still a safe place to live: no gun culture, no war zones and no carnivorous predators.

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I found a musket ball

What's the coolest thing you've ever found (and kept)? The Battle of Málaga, or Battle of Vélez-Málaga, took place during the War of the Spanish Succession between an Anglo-Dutch fleet and a Franco-Spanish naval force on 24 August 1704. Thank you Google. I can never remember the facts properly. Those are the dry crusty bits of information. Here’s the interesting bit: Bock in the noughties I was living in Southern Spain, having retired and generally just bumming around getting up to mischief. said mischief usually involved long parties at the weekend.

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CAMINO: The story behind the book.

Why I Chose to Write Camino Walking the Camino de Santiago gave me an extraordinary insight into the mindset of the medieval pilgrim. Many of the route’s cathedrals, churches, and hostels still stand as living witnesses to centuries of faith and endurance. To feel the weariness, the aching feet, the uncertainty of finding shelter, and the quiet joy of companionship — these experiences are timeless on the pilgrim road, and they shaped the spirit of my novel, Camino. The idea began while I was writing my travel journal, Walking Towards Myself.

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Grass cutting

What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can? If I had unlimited wealth I would pour money into developing a grass that grew to a couple of inches then stopped. That’s me in the pic, on the mower 18 years ago, having unsuccessfully avoided cutting the grass. It takes an hour to do, even on the ride-on, longer if I use the walk-behind one. Some find it therapeutic, I just find it tedious. Over the years I have managed to return a good bit of the lawn to its natural state of a meadow.

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Look in the mirror

Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met? Well, here I am, the most infamous person I’ve ever met, my alter ego Marcus Goldworthy. Born nearly a thousand years ago in the early Middle Ages, I’m the original Highlander. In my current incarnation I have walked this earth for 70 years now, and it won’t be too long before I will reincarnate again. This time round I must admit I’ve seen some pretty startling changes in the world. Our access to knowledge and communication are growing exponentially with the dawn of the computer age, which this is.

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My canine personal trainer!

What is good about having a pet? Here’s my personal trainer, available 24/7, always full of enthusiasm and boundless energy. Fees are reasonable too, one square meal a day, couple of treats, and the occasional bone. Just out of interest if you’ve looked at the picture closely, that’s a massive stack of cardboard egg boxes. If you have chickens, then you can never have enough egg boxes. The daily workout carefully created by my canine personal trainer involves two long walks, during which upper body exercises are carried out such as throwing a tennis ball and tug of war.

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Ouch! But it was worth it!

Name the most expensive personal item you've ever purchased (not your home or car). These two beauties are one of the most expensive things I’ve ever bought. A pair of Yanigasawa TWO10 Saxophones. The pair cost more than my first house to buy in 1978. A true pro sax, they take the punishment dished out doing live gigs. They are made to be played and I can’t give them enough praise! In the picture is an alto and a tenor. The bigger one is the tenor. I’ve played many saxes over the years, but these are simply the best money can buy.

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What’s a podcast?

What podcasts are you listening to? Despite being reasonably computer literate, I struggle to keep up with modern jargon. This is a blog, so I’m told, but what defines this as a blog, that as a podcast or something else as a vlog I couldn’t say. So I turned to google: Looks like it’s a pre- recorded radio show then, on a fixed or series of topics audio only. My life is now complete. So next, I wondered what a vlog is and what makes that different to a blog.

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