Evening All
My fourth and final book of the series is out on Amazon today. I've posted the blurb below. I've also posted an excerpt so you can see he style of the book.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/As-They-Slept-commuter-ebook/dp/B00FRY2A3Y
As They Slept - Part 4 is the fourth and final instalment of the hugely successful debut book "As They Slept" by Andy Leeks.
In September 2012, Andy, infuriated by the snoozing passengers surrounding him, posted a status on Facebook declaring that sleeping on trains is a complete waste of time.
His friends disagreed.
In a bid to prove them wrong, Andy set out to write a book from start to finish on the daily commute.
As They Slept - Part 4 is a collection of comical tales of travel and trepidation, guaranteed to make you laugh.
In the final book of the series, Andy describes how he got attacked by a bat, how he nearly blinded his daughter and exactly how he came to be sharing his carriage with a foreign spy.
Excerpt
I've seen a rapid increase in the number of establishments using the word 'Express' in their business or product names recently. For the most part it makes perfect sense, and I can see exactly why the proprietors would want to convey the message of speed.
The word express conjures up images of people dashing around looking as if someone has pressed the fast-forward button. It conjures up images of people standing aside and waving you through, but unfortunately, thanks to fatherhood, it also conjures up images of my wife using an elaborate machine to extract milk from her breast.
'Cafe Nero Express' is a perfect example of where the word express works well. 'Cafe Nero Express' perfectly explains what you're going to get as a paying customer. You're going to get coffee and, so long as they have their business model right, you're going to get it quickly. Pizza Express works much in the same way, and once again I wholeheartedly agree with their willingness to provide the 'Express' in their title and their service. As I see it, people need food and drink in order to survive, and whenever there's a chance that someone might die, I think it's reasonable to demand an express service.
There are a couple of examples, however, where the word express doesn't exactly fit with the product or service. Take the Gatwick Express, for example. It's a fantastic concept: a high-speed train service which will get you to Gatwick in a flash. Except the flash is usually followed by smoke and flames, all as a result of another signal-box failure.
All of this brings me to a company that was brought to my attention yesterday, as one of its branded vans sped around the City of London. The company?
Picture Frames Express!
I've nothing against Picture Frames Express, per se. I'm sure they offer an extremely good range of picture frames and are able to deliver them quickly, but who has ever thought to themselves "I need a picture frame, and I need it now"?
Surely a picture frame is a purchase only ever carried out while casually browsing? I can't imagine someone ever running into a shop and demanding to know where the frames are. "They're over there, sir, right by the door, next to the toilet paper and the morning-after pills!"