Amzon: A good reason to keep Barnes and Noble as a viable alternative

You can generally tell when a company reaches monopoly status, or very near it, when it starts to loose contact with the people who helped carry it to the top—the suppliers and clients. Another indicator is when that company looses sight of its understood mandate (i.e. to serve the public—meaning all the public) and starts to act cavalierly. That, in my experience, describes Amazon.

My first experience came when I published my second novel, Journey to Big Sky, through CreateSpace (a subsidiary of Amazon Corp.). However, when it was listed on both Amazon.com and Amazon-Canada there was no product description—the kiss of death for any novel. I pointed this out to CreateSpace but got no where, and, of course, there is no way you can contact Amazon apart from their carefully controlled means (which doesn’t include complaints of this nature).

To be truthful I didn’t press it because I wasn’t really satisfied with the way I had written the story, and so I reworked it from beginning to end and published it as Nor All Thy Tears: Journey to Big Sky—once again through CreateSpace.

This time around it did get listed on Amazon.com with an all important product description, but Amazon-Canada listed it as “Unavailable,” which, if anything, is worse than no product description. Moreover, Amazon.com has yet to include it under “Canadian gay fiction,” even though it is about a Canadian politician set it Toronto and Ottawa. In other words, it couldn’t be more Canadian if it was wrapped in the flag and drizzled with maple syrup!

Meanwhile, it is rated #3 on Barnes and Noble`s “Romantic Fiction” list of approximately 64,000 titles—of all genres. I conclude therefore that the novel is not without merit.

Needless to say I’m biased in favour of Barnes and Noble as my book carrier of choice, but I believe it is in every writer’s interest to keep B&N as a viable alternative. Mine is not the only novel listed on Amazon without a product description. I’ve come across quite a number in my search for stories to review, and because of it the authors have lost the exposure I could have given his/her novel.

So, given that one can’t complain to Amazon, what can be done? Well, I’ve redirected all my “Go here to purchase” links to Barnes and Noble. Admittedly this isn’t going to drive Amazon into bankruptcy, but if everyone did the same it could make a difference in Amazon’s attitude—for the better one hopes.

Please think about it.

There are about 2,700 Landed Immigrants on Canada's "Most Wanted" list

These characters are accused of crimes against humanity in their home countries--i.e. muder, torture and rape, etc. [See 680 news item, "Ottawa expands Canadian Border Services Agency's fugitives list."]

Of course, the first question must be: How did they get into this country in the first place? Second, these are only the 2,700 we know of, so how many more are there out there?

A possible answer to the first question might be Canada's fixation with multiculturalism, to the point that it puts out the welcome mat for all and sundry with a foreign address. However, we are improving in that department because we at least know who these 2,700 goons are.

Mind you, that doesn't help so long as the prevailing practice is to leave the door open for more of these thugs to freely walk through it--collecting full social benefits along the way. It also doesn't help that the prevailing attitude about Canada is that, culturally speaking, it doesn't exist.

To end, let me make it clear that I believe qualified immigration is fine, I also believe multicuralism is fine--so long as it doesn't supplant those traditions which make this country uniquely Canadian--i.e. the RCMP's stetson-style hats, and respectfully removing one's hat in a Legion.

Otherwise, it must be seen as an insult to the pioneers who made this country great.

There's very little "Canada" left in "Canadian"

I first began to notice this with the so called “Canada Day” celebrations, this year. The airwaves were full of self-congratulating promoters touting the various multicultural events that were planned. However, there wasn’t even a single mention of our pioneer nation-builders who built this country with the sweat of their brows, and who lie forgotten in its soil. Indeed, from all the multicultural hype one would get the impression that Canada—at least culturally—began with the first plane load of immigrants to land at Pearson International Airport.

Nor did these Canada Day celebrations mention all the Canadian accomplishments for which we can be proudly Canadian. For example: The longest street in the world (Yonge Street, 1187.1 mi) was built between the 1790s &1812; the discovery of insulin was a Canadian accomplishment; the standardization of time was also a Canadian innovation; as was the game of basketball. The list goes on and on, of course, but the point is that things Canadian get swept under the carpet in favour of foreign imports, and this just isn’t right. In fact, it is downright shameful!

Multiculturalism is fine, but it isn’t Canadian. It is what it implies, i.e. an amalgam of various cultures that are being superimposed over an indigenous Canadian history and culture by a few effete, trend-setters, who view anything imported a being terruhbly chic. Meanwhile, Canadian history and traditions are being superseded in school curricula to the point where they will soon be forgotten altogether.

My personal gripe has to do with my latest novel, Nor All Thy Tears: Journey to Big Sky. It is a story set in the farming community of Pefferlaw, Ontario, as well as Toronto, Ottawa, and the ending includes Big Prairie Sky Country, Saskatchewan. In other words, it couldn’t be more Canadian if it was wrapped in the flag and drizzled with maple syrup. Yet, I had to go out of the country to have it published, and presently Amazon-Canada has it listed as “Currently unavailable.” [It’s available on Amazon.com].

I’m not arguing the merits of the story here—although it has received a five-star review—but at least offer it for sale in the author’s home country and let the readers decide.