In 2023, I drove across Spain for 6 hours.
My destination?
La Linea.
Despite clocking hundreds of miles, dodging speed cameras, and encountering more toll booths than I’ve ever experienced before, the journey went off without a hitch.
That was until I parked up a couple of miles away from the famous Gibraltar Rock.
I remember getting out to the ebbing sunlight and hearing an almighty hiss that didn’t belong to Lady Laura (for once). I then noticed the car suddenly tilting left, so I sped around the hood and found the cause of our problem:
We had somehow punctured the tyre.
It was only when I rolled the car forward that I discovered the culprit — a disposable vape.
Yes, those stupid plastic things that people puff on.
How the hell this thing destroyed the tyre that had eaten hundreds of miles of tarmac without issue still alludes me, but alas, it did. I just remember standing there, clutching my hair, as the last wheeze of air hissed from the tyre, thinking who the hell is going to help me.
We didn’t even have a spare in the boot!
Problem was that the evening drew near and Spain is notorious for shops closing early.
It was precisely at that moment that Lady Laura reminded me we had paid for the top insurance package and after a quick call, they told me to drive the car very slowly to the nearest rental station to trade it in for another car.
I hesitated driving the thing with a flat, but the guy on the phone reminded me in broken English that time was of the essence — the rental place would shut within the hour.
So, I put on my big boy sunglasses, prayed to the gods, and drove at a crawl.
And let me tell you, I pissed off a lot of motorists that evening.
I’m not sure this story matters a great deal to most of you, but what I took from it was to never skimp on insurance — especially in a foreign country. It would’ve been a whole other ball ache having to call Miguel for a towing truck, Carlos for a new car, and then fork over all the extra pesos to Adriana just to get back on the road.
Insurance… it pays you peace of mind like no other.
Kind of like my Storefront.
It’s not uncommon for retailers to boot off authors from their platforms for some silly breach of Terms in Section 110, Line I-don’t-give-two-toes, and boom 💥, just like that, their indie publishing career is turned on its head.
By having my own platform — that I control — cultivates a similar peace of mind to the one I experienced a couple of years ago.
Is it completely foolproof?
No. Nothing is.
However, I’m sure able to breathe easy at night when Lady Laura tucks me into bed, but it doesn’t just benefit me… it also benefits my readers. This freedom allows me to write stories I want to tell without worrying about the censorship police of today or the future… it enables me to offer supplemental products that complement my stories (like the Digital World Art of The Divided Region)… it allows me to bundle products so my loyal patrons can save a few pesos… and a bunch of other cool stuff.
I make no bones that, outside of the Legion, my Storefront is the single biggest weapon I have in my toolbox.
And if you’re yet to visit my store or save on The Divided Region Starter Bundle, then go ahead and peruse it here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/divided-region-starter-bundle
DJJW