Our sunset from hell
A couple of months back in June, Lady Laura, Liam, and I got together with my mother and sister. We hired a lodge about an hour from home in one of our favourite little spots to just kick back, relax, and escape the constant drone of sirens that’s sadly becoming all too commonplace in Greater […]
My most-held AI predictions
Not a day goes by that AI isn’t rammed down our throats in one form or another. And you know what? I am sick to death of them all having the fun, so it’s high time I roll up my sleeves and get these pretty little hands of mine dirty. 😈 However, instead of gorking […]
2 reasons to get TDR in the next 48 hours…
Yesterday, I revealed how much of a The Lord of the Rings fan I am and how J.R.R. Tolkien influenced many things in my own series, The Divided Region, without me really knowing it. I also (very subtly) unveiled the new and improved covers of Books 1-5. 🤩 Yes, I kept it quiet for more […]
Is TDR just Lord of the Rings in disguise? (+ Big Update)
I’m a big LOTR fan, and I suspect many here in the Legion are, too. Earlier this year, I rewatched the trilogy when it struck me like Gimli's axe just how much Tolkien's work has influenced The Divided Region without me even really knowing it. There were so many parallels that it’s borderline spooky. For […]
Authors hate it when I say this
First and foremost, thank you to all those who reached out yesterday with movie recommendations. Our “to watch” list is now plump and no longer malnourished. For the curious: Laura and I settled on The Accountant 2, which turned out to be quite the fun watch, though the moment those credits rolled in, we hit […]
I refuse to buy cheap e-books. Here’s why…
A few months back, I decided to quell my OCD ways by painstakingly categorising my Kindle library into its respective genres. And let me tell you, it was SWIMMING with books. All said and done, it took me the best part of an hour to complete. … An hour I’d have much preferred spent reading, […]
Pissy for no reason
Ever get those days where you wake up feeling pissy for absolutely no reason? Not angry. Not sad. Just… off. When the slightest inconvenience — the kind you’d normally let fly over your head — suddenly finds a special spot under your skin like an unwelcome parasite? Well, that’s me today… … and I’ve got […]
I now know why 50-year-olds are so happy
Warning: If crass topics aren’t your marmalade, skip over this email. For adults with even just a follicle of humour about them, away we go… While carrying out my weekly lurk in FB writer groups, I came across the following image that, quite frankly, had me clutching my abs (by abs, I mean jello). Not […]
Introducing the world’s fakest author
Also known as… Me. Why? Well, for starters… I closed The Goblet of Fire after Chapter 4 as a kid and thought, what a horrible job it must be to write so many pages for a living. Oh, the irony will never be lost on me. That’s strike one. I never “came out of the […]
My #1 enemy
Most of you loveable scoundrels regrettably found me through social media. You might have clicked one of my ads… Watched one of my many ridiculous (and occasionally provocative) reels… Tweets… Or YouTube videos. Whatever the case, social media — as much as I deplore it for reasons I won’t get into — has been an […]
A sneaky fact Amazon doesn’t want you knowing
The other day, while going down the rabbit hole that is also known as Google, I stumbled upon an astonishing fact that left me… stunned. Seasoned Legionnaires know full well that’s no easy feat. It came in the form of a striking headline claiming that physical books are responsible for felling — get this — […]
5 surprising facts about readers
Since publishing my first novella 11 years ago, I’ve come to realise something: Readers are a delightful, baffling, hilarious, emotionally dangerous species. How do I know? Because I am one of them. That said, here are 5 surprising things I’ve learned that even threw me: 1. They don’t care how long it took you to […]
The most dangerous word in business (and life)
I’ve been entrepreneurial all my life. I remember as a kid not having a clue what I wanted to do, but knowing innately I was never going to walk a traditional path. As a zitty teenager, I’d hack Gamerscore (points accrued by completing certain challenges in Xbox video games) and sell the accounts on eBay […]
We all need incentives 😉
We’re starting to “encourage” Master Liam — our resident 14-month-old — to climb the stairs himself now that he’s weighing in at over 10kg. He's not just heavy; he is an outright safety hazard. Especially for Laura, whose gait is beginning to mimic that of a penguin as we edge ever closer to the due […]
I want to take this moment to apologise to…
… Absolutely nobody. 😈 https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/TDR-Bundle Stay strange, DJJW
11 Legionnaires have been hurting my D
Deliverability, that is. You see, without getting too technical, for every one Legionnaire NOT opening, reading, and engaging with my whimsical musings, it alerts my Email Service Provider (which I pay for) that my content isn’t relevant or, dare say, spammy, which then limits my email deliverability to those who DO engage with my daily […]
Can my kid read The Divided Region?
A question I occasionally see slip into my inbox looks something like this: “Can my kid read The Divided Region?” Usually, my reply inquires about their age, and if they are under 17, I’ll simply reply with: “No.” That’s not to say TDR is grimdark by any stretch, nor am I implying that age automatically […]
[⏰] You have exactly 24 hours to secure your fate
Yesterday, I (regretfully) informed you that my Email Service Provider deems you inactive. I say "regretfully" because these tech platforms tend to get it wrong more than they get it right… Sometimes. To make sure they haven't got it wrong on this occasion and you are NOT wrongfully ejected from the Legion in 24 hours, […]
Let the Purge begin 😈
Just a quick heads up: Tomorrow I’ll be contacting “Cold Subscribers” that my email service provider has flagged up on my system. These are Legionnaires who have supposedly not opened or clicked any of my emails in the last several weeks. I usually don’t trust these metrics as far as I can throw them for […]
Do you still want to receive these emails?
Greetings disciple, My email service provider has alerted me that they deem you surplus to requirements "Cold." By that, you haven't opened, clicked, or engaged with any of my emails in the past several weeks. Sometimes they do this by mistake, other times they get it right. To make sure they haven't got it wrong […]