Walt's Corner

To get straight to my review and forego the backstory like a lil’ punk, scroll on down past the fold. You’ll see it.

My real shaving days began when I joined the Army at an early age. I was kind of lucky. I could get away with not shaving every day in those early years but eventually I had to begin shaving every day. Not having much time to spare, I was forced to find the most efficient way to get shit done, and that was with an electric razor. None of the ones my little soldier salary could afford at the time was good enough to pass the business card test. That led me to the inevitable cartridge style razors. The Razor and Blade Business model. Also referred to as the Bait and Hook, or the Tied Products Model. A company sells something at or below cost (the razor) in order to be able to sell you an accompanying – yet required – part (the razor blade) at grossly inflated prices that make up for the loss of the aforementioned part sold at or below cost. In the end, it’s the consumer who gets fucked.

Fast forward to my second career, I am no longer required to shave, but I do. At least 3 times a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I can now afford a nice electric. In fact, that was my first ever purchase from Amazon Prime’s “Deal of the Day.” Remember those days? When you actually got a great deal? Not only that, but for an extra buck, you could have it delivered over night! Got me a nice Panasonic something or other that was sold at the local stores for $250 for a mere $69. And had that bitch overnighted.

Even then, I longed for the days of lore. Shaving cream. Razor blades. Skin as smooth as a baby’s ass, as they say. And just about at that time, a new start up called Dollar Shave Club appeared on the scene with an awesome SuperbOwl commercial. I joined. They sent me my razor blade handle and my blades. The blades were on a subscription model that was something like $2 a month. Plus shipping. Not too shabby. Then the price went up, of course, as all things do.

That got me to thinking about safety razor blades. Those were relatively cheap. I started looking into the old fashioned safety razors and blades. This model is the exact opposite. You pay big bucks for the razor and mere cents for the blades. The trade off? Skill. You need good skill to control that blade so that you don’t make a facial sacrifice. After a bit of research and video watching, I decided on Vikings Blade – The Emperor and The Chieftain – the high and low end, respectively. The Chieftain is a no frills all around good razor. To this day I keep and use it in the RV. The Emperor is top notch, as the McPoyles would say. Not only adjustable, but with separate sides. Wielding both a smooth and notched side. That was back in May of 2019. I have used The Emperor as my daily razor ever since. Until today, that is.

And now, we’ve successfully made it to…

————THE FOLD————

Want my quick summary? Excellent razor. Lightweight and simple. Seems to be less irritating to my skin than my other safety razors. It’s a solid purchase that you probably won’t regret. And if you do? Shoot. They offer a 30-day money back guarantee. Now let’s bloviate.

I’ve been seeing these ads for Henson Razors, claiming to be version 2 of the lowly safety razor. 30-day money back guarantee. Made out of aircraft grade aluminum. I guess these guys out of Canada make parts out of aluminum for satellites that hang out in space as their day job. As a side-project they churn out these 3-piece razors that are supposed to be built to extremely precise specifications resulting in the best shave you’ll ever see. Henson also makes a version out of, <checks website> Grade 5 Titanium. That will set you back, <checks website again> a mere $250 bones. Tempting. But no. At least not yet. I haven’t even tried out the regular Henson yet, for Christ’s sake. I also reserve the right to change my mind at a later date.

I settled on the regular Henson AL13 in the standard Aircraft Aluminum color, which I highly suspect is just the aluminum with no paint. There are 4 other colors. They are pretty, but I’m afraid the paint will eventually rub off. Cost: $69.99. I can add a 100-pack of razor blades to the deal for an extra $10. Sure. Why not. It’s been about a year and a half since I bought razor blades. Henson claims this pack of razors will last the typical shaver 2-3 years. Seems exaggerated, but still. Who else can say they spend $9.99 on razors for a year and a half? I generally use 1 razor blade the entire week. It has 2 sides, it can be turned over for another 2 sides. I shave 3 times a week, I use one side per shave. Probably rather wasteful, but hey, when I’m paying less than a dime per razor blade I can splurge. I added the blades to the cart.

Next, I scoured the interwebs for a discount code. Because I’m a greedy penny-pinching bitch. Jackpot, as Quagmire would say. Found a code that brought the price of the razor blades down to zero. For about $80 I purchased the razor, razor blades, and shipping.

In my opinion no blade is sharper than Feather. Astra is pretty darn close, and at less than half the cost? It’s a no brainer. In fact, as I write this review the Astra is going for $8.98 for a pack of 100 and Feather goes for $22.95 for a pack of 50. Older videos I watched about folks unboxing their Henson razors clearly showed the included blades as Astra. But now they come with a brand called RK. Suspiciously looking, acting, and packaged just like Astra. Even the metal slots line up perfectly as if cut from the same die. I would not be surprised at all if they were simply a rebranded Astra.

I try all different types of shaving soap, but my current is Gentleman Jon Sandalwood applied with a Vikings Blade Dark Stallion Brush. The first thing you notice about the Henson AL13 is the insane light weightiness. It weighs in at an astonishing 39 grams with my Astra razor blade installed. Compared to the 133 grams The Emperor weighs. Initially I thought the razor would be too light. But no. It does the job and does it well. Not as orgasmic as they would imply, but a very close shave. Definitely a keeper. Henson claims no razor burn/irritation. From my experience, they are correct, though that is a person-to-person experience. Your results may vary. What I can confirm is that using The Emperor every day will result in razor burn on my face. Using the Henson AL13 every day did not give me razor burn. In my opinion it lives up to their hype and that says a lot. On the other hand…

I used the Henson exclusively for the entire first week. The second week I used the Henson all but one day. I went back to The Emperor just to see how I felt, because I was missing it. The hefty weight. The smooth glide over my face. This is what the Henson lacks – that smooth glide. In fact. It feels like it is acting as a type of squeegee device on my face as it glides over my skin for that stroke. After that, if I try to hit that same spot again, it feels as though it’s going over dry skin. But rest assured, it’s not. A quick finger to cheek check confirms the cheek is still wet. Just not as wet as I’m used to.

The other gripe, if you could call it that, is the appearance. I love stainless steel. I mean, check out The Emperor sitting there in its throne. All that gleaming stainless steel and chrome. Then look at the same setup but with the Henson. Kind of dull. Not the first hint of prestigiousness emanates from that Henson. But that’s OK. I still have The Emperor if want to experience an aristocratic shave.

If Henson ever does make a stainless steel version of their AL13, I’d certainly spend the coin on it.

I’m not the fastest reader, but I chug along reading every night before bed. The latest finished novel comes from Matt Rayner, Echoes of Home. Reading took me from May 5 – May 23 at my usual intended 15-20 minutes per night but being the page-turner it was, on a couple occasions, had me pushing the envelope at maybe half an hour give or take.

As mentioned previously, this was a page-turner and provided all the tell-tale signs of a great ghost story – the need to turn the page when it is really time to put the book down, tingles running up and down your spine, and closure at the end.

I’m not one to give details of a story, but I will say that it revolves around a man who loses his family to gain another, and solves a pesky apparition problem in the meantime.

You’ll get bonus points for reading past the end and into the acknowledgements in the form of insight into the basis of character names, story, and Rayner’s personal tie-in.

Next up: The Mobius Door, by Andrew Najberg.

Oh wow. I hadn’t realized that Taco Tuesday was actually a trademarked phrase, nor had I heard of Taco John, although I’d doubt the authenticity of any Taco made by a “John.” I kid, I kid. I’d hit it. Then make my decision. After all, who’d eat an authentic taco made by a Walt, am I right? Although I would put my taco up against any other any day.

Matter of fact, I thought I practically had Taco Tuesday trademarked, as I have had and announced Taco Tuesday for as long a I can remember. Check out my signature Brisket Taco Plate. Cue the “I-Made-This” sound byte from the end of X-Files credits.

I smoke my own brisket, just for the use of my Taco Tuesdays and my Breakfast Tacos. I don’t do brisket for dinner slices. I make my own charro beans and rice, and usually the charro beans make a good refried beans. Homemade guacamole and pico de gallo. Sour cream. Wash it all down with a frozen margarita. Served on a 375-degree platter. This. This is every Tuesday in my house. You can set your watch and warrant on it.

While meandering through a facebook group I hang out in, Books of Horror, I saw someone share some information about BookBub. An excellent source for deals (and steals) on eBooks. I prefer Kindle, but there are plenty more out there – nook, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo. They’re all there, as they grammatically say.

Sign up was a cinch. The cost? One email address. So give it up, sign up, tell it your device(s), genres, favorite authors, and they’ll do the rest. Got my first email from them today with plenty of bargains.

I notice lots of these books are already on Kindle Unlimited, which would be a free read for you anyways if you subscribe to that service. But they let you purchase it for free.

I like free but I also like to make sure an author gets their coin. After all, this is how they make a living. There are a couple questions I have had for authors for several years now about buying an ebook, reading it for free from a subscription model such as Kindle Unlimited, or getting it for free or discount as a deal-of-the-day/week.

To find out once and for all, I turned to three authors that I’m familiar with through the social media channels facebook and Mastodon: Matt Rayner, Jeff Strand, and Dan Moren. All three took the time out of their busy schedules to provide me with some answers.

First up and geographically furthest from me is M.L. Rayner, author of Amongst the Mists, Echoes of Home, and Bloodline (which he co-wrote with Jim Ody). I’m currently reading Echoes of Home and can happily say I’ve already read the other two and definitely look forward to his next story (hint, hint). I was introduced to Rayner in the aforementioned facebook page. Rayner’s prose can easily send a chill up your spine transitioning into a stifled scream from your locked jaw. He’s delightfully interactive with his fan base as well as his fellow authors.

Second, Jeff Strand, who can make you scream and laugh in the same paragraph, was first brought to my attention through a couple of other authors. You know what they say about 6 degrees of Separation? There were 2 degrees between myself and Strand: Blake Crouch and J.A. Konrath. Wayward Pines (arguably the best trilogy ever, other than THAT one) by Crouch is what introduced me to Konrath. Liking Wayward so much, I started eating up everything I could find on Crouch and that took me to a collaboration of Crouch and Konrath called Serial Killers Uncut. A very sick, twisted tale of nothing but bad guys with a splattering of some other staple Konrath characters sprinkled throughout. Imagine all your favorite villains throwing a party. And you’re invited. I cannot recommend Serial Killers Uncut enough. After that I was on a mission to get everything Konrath. And THAT’S how I met your… err… wait, wrong story. And that’s how I discovered Strand – through a collaboration of Crouch, Konrath, Strand, and Wilson called Draculas. Strand’s latest release is a novelization of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. This is currently in my To Be Read list. All his others? Read. Strand has too many books to mention here. You’re better off grabbing his list of books from his website.

Last but not least, Dan Moren. Known for his Galactic Cold War series. We have more of a “I know him but he don’t know me” relationship, but not in that creepy Misery way. I’ve followed him since his days at Macworld. The Bayern Agenda is in my Kindle library. He responded that he has not used Kindle Unlimited but graciously provide a link to the royalty structure which sheds light on how it works.

Thanks for taking my questions, gentlemen.

My first question, does an author get paid the same regardless of how the ebook is obtained? That is, if a kindle ebook is sold for $4.99, but is included for free within Kindle Unlimited, does the author get compensated the same?  

Great question. The answer all depends on whether the book is self-published by the author or represented by a publishing house. In the case of self-publishing, authors who publish their books through platforms such as Amazon may price their books around $5-7 on Kindle, as they may only receive a 10-15% fraction of the profit per sale. Pricing a book at $1.99 or lower may not be worth it, depending on its popularity. This is where alternative selling options, such as Kindle Unlimited (KU), come in handy. When a book is purchased on KU, the author receives royalties based on page reads, rather than a standard percentage of the profit. While royalties per page read may be small, if a book gains a following, it can become more profitable than if it were purchased outright by readers.

The same principles apply to authors represented by a publishing house, with the publisher acquiring a share of the royalties and providing the author with their contractual percentage. While this may sound like a disadvantage, having representation can be beneficial, as it can increase the book’s visibility and reach a wider audience, ultimately resulting in more book sales than if the author were to go solo.

M.L. Rayner

No. If somebody buys the book, you get a percentage. A $4.99 book at 70% would earn the author about $3.49. Kindle Unlimited income is based on the number of pages read (the cover price is irrelevant), and the amount fluctuates slightly each month. If somebody read a 300-page book all the way through, and that month’s payout was half a cent per page, the author would make $1.50. So it’s quite a bit less, but if that reader enjoys the book and sees that a bunch of my other titles are also on Kindle Unlimited, it can add up.

Jeff Strand

My second question is kind of a follow up. How about when a book’s price has been lowered to a sale event? Normally it’s $4.99, but this week and this week only it could be had for a dollar! So I jump on to get it and notice it is also on Kindle Unlimited. Does the author get compensated the same whether someone paid $4.99 for it last week, or $1 for it this week, or reads for free on Kindle Unlimited.

When an author self-publishes their work, any decision to discount their book is solely at their discretion and not that of the platform on which it is sold. Therefore, the author is not entitled to additional compensation during the discounted period. The percentage rates for royalties will remain the same as for the book at its regular price. Although this may be disheartening, it is worth noting that discounted prices can generate interest from readers, potentially increasing the book’s visibility and reaching new audiences. This is particularly true as many readers are drawn to discounted prices. However, if an author has chosen to sell their book through Kindle Unlimited, the rules for royalties remain unaffected. The same applies to authors represented by a publishing house, with the publisher having full control over when to discount the book rather than the author.

M.L. Rayner

The author earns less if the book is on sale. A Kindle Countdown Deal that puts a book on sale for .99 will bring the author about 70 cents. The goal is to make up for it by selling a larger number of books than you would at full price!

Jeff Strand

My thoughts… Maybe I have this all wrong, and the author gets compensated for the idea of the book. Publishers pay authors a flat fee for the story. Publishers then keep all proceeds from their sales of the individual books.  

Your statement is accurate; however, it reflects a rather outdated approach for new writers. In contemporary times, paying upfront based solely on an idea is uncommon, except for established mainstream writers such as Stephen King or Dean Koontz. Instead, smaller publishers typically require writers to complete their entire manuscript before considering it for publication. If the manuscript is accepted, the author will be presented with a contract outlining the percentage of monthly, quarterly, or annual royalties they will receive. Alternatively, authors have the option to self-publish their work, allowing them to retain all proceeds from sales.

M.L. Rayner

Also, feel free to add anything you’d like us readers to know, like… Review my damn book! 

If you’re a fan of spine-chilling tales that keep you awake at night, you can find all of my books on Amazon under the pen name of M. L. Rayner.

M.L. Rayner

At long last, my burning questions have been laid to rest. I’ve heard it from the authors’ mouths. Generally, they indeed get paid less for sales and perhaps on Kindle Unlimited depending on pricing. Sometimes the trade-off of the resulting expanded visibility/exposure pays off in the end.

One final thought for those of us who sip from the Kindle Unlimited fountain. Since they do get paid by how many pages you flip through, why not be sure to flip through the entire book? Even when the story is finished and they include a chapter from another novel of theirs to preview. Flip through! Even if you’ve already read it. Your revered source of entertainment will get a few more pennies for this simple act.

Again, I’d like to thank these authors for sharing their time and insight with little insignificant me. The real moral of the story here is to read. Whether you get hardcover, paperback, eBook or audiobook. Our entertainment is someone’s living. Always support our authors.

I’m a sucker for a gorgeous Fountain Pen. Make it chrome? Easy boy… you had me at Fountain. OMG… comes standard with my initials already engraved on the nib and the clip? Head explodes. Gotta have it.

Also shown is Waterman’s Serenity Blue ink. I tell you, being a Notary Public, people notice when you whip out the fountain pen for the official signature. THEY usually don’t get to use it for fear of them bending my nibs. But it sure gets the comments.