Date: 2021 July 19
APOK News
It’s been a while since my last post and there has been quite a bit happening all over the place. To help keep this manageable, I’ve broken down this post in several categories.
COMMERCIAL SHOOT
Wearing more hats than a hat stand, I worked with several others who did the same and together we tackled an ambitious APOK Commercial shoot list. We managed to get most of it completed in the long 11 hour day, not including set up and take down, but the crew assembled was amazing. I can’t thank each and everyone of them enough for their energy and enthusiasm right up until the last shot was taken. Thank you, Kim, Julien, Amanda, Elise, Samantha, Omid, Joshua, Kwintin, Stephanie, Harrison and Heather. In order to round out the portfolio there will be at least two more shots that occur this year. I expect at least one of them will be a BLAST, more literally than you know! The above image was taken during the set up of one of the scenes. I would like to thank Thomas who helped inspire me to go through with the shoot, Eric, Steve, Brittany, Emily and Jesse who helped get things sorted out and gave me more ideas.
PROMOTIONS
In keeping with Writer’s Digest’s suggestion, I’ve hired a Promotions Manager. Like you, they believe that APOK is something that many readers are seeking to find… and I’m hopeful that the Promotions Manager will help readers do just that. Please welcome Samantha as she takes on this most important assignment. I am positive she will do great, and will elevate the APOK series worldwide.
SEQUEL
The third addition to the APOK Series is near complete. It’s a “teeth clenching” race to the finish and I’m sure when you finally receive your copy, you’ll feel the anxiety building inside as you burn through the pages. I know there’s still time, but ideas of the third book launch have been slowly coming to me. What to do? What to do?
“COFFEE TIME”
Today marks the 22nd anniversary of my journey as a police officer. Little did I know what I was going to happen when I completed the application form. It’s been filled with many twists and turns, some good and some bad but in the end, all good giving me more ammunition for writing than I know what to do with. I’ve definitely met some characters over the years, and hope to do them justice.
There are many stories that come to mind… but I will leave you with one that I hope brings a smile to your face and will highlight several important facts…
Before I can tell the story, I must preface it with some background… After I finally had a sense of what I was doing as a police officer, I was eager to be the best that I can be. I gravitated towards investigations, particularly drug enforcement, and as a result I have arrested hundreds if not thousands of persons. Drug traffickers have always been an interesting bunch. They live and die through deceit. Needless to say, I’ve been lied to a lot.
This one day, while investigating a drug dealer they immediately start with their story telling. One story leads into another, into another and eventually I am able to “detect” my way through the thick fog of lies and arrest them for drug trafficking. Upon arrest, they inform me, “I need to go to the washroom.” After the slew of lies I had to sort through to get to this point, I figured this was yet another.
For those who don’t know, the human body has a pocket that seems to serve drug traffickers well… I believe medically it’s referred to as a two syllable word… first syllable, wreck and second syllable tum. Drug Trafficking can be a nasty business on a good day, and to think someone will smoke, shoot, or ingest something that came out of someone’s body pocket should have most people gagging… but that’s another story…
Needless to say, I am quite aware of this hiding spot and have been tricked before seeing someone flush drugs down the drain… It was a learning experience and when this drug dealer told me they had to go to the washroom, I thought they were lying to me at first. As a “trained” investigator, I realized that the sweat on their brow, the urgency of their voice, and their off-the-wall bathroom suggestions convinced me that they were telling the truth. I offered to bring them to a washroom, however as most people can attest, sometimes when nature calls, seconds count. They insisted that I bring them to their car so they could do the deed, as we were in the city and a washroom wasn’t directly in our vicinity and a nearby public facility was too far. I was hesitant knowing I hadn’t searched the car completely and was worried that they would hide or destroy evidence. Reluctantly I brought them to their car due to their urgent pleas with a watchful eye, and was astonished that they were telling the truth and their accuracy filling a large coffee cup. Their aim was remarkable considering the circumstances, propped up in the backseat of their car, they didn’t get a drop or a nugget outside the cup.
They gently placed the cup on the floor of the car and exited and entered my cop car warning me not to disrupt the cup when I searched for the rest of the drugs.
Morals of the story… there are no absolutes, drug dealers don’t lie about everything… humans don’t necessarily need a perfect bowl to complete their business… AND make sure you know what’s in the cup before you take a drink.
Till next time,
Mike