$14.95 + FREE Shipping

As author and humor columnist Rick Cogbill prepares Book 2 in the Slim Shambles series for release later this year, we are offering a Freight-Free Sale.

That means we are paying all the shipping charges on Book 1, A Fine Day for a Drive, a savings of over $4 per book (over $8.50 to our US readers).

Check out the whacky world of Slim Shambles Auto Repair for yourself by reading a sample chapter here. Then order your autographed copy of A Fine Day for a Drive through Slim’s Bookstore.

NOW AVAILABLE IN E-BOOK FORMAT – only $6.95

For all you e-book lovers, A Fine Day for a Drive is now available as an e-book from Amazon.com. Just follow this link.

(Personal note from the author)
Just a big thanks to all the loyal readers who have been e-mailing me lately, wondering where Book 2 has been hiding. I hear you, and want to assure you that it’s well underway. I’ve just spent much of this past summer sitting at picnic tables in a writing frenzy.

The Mad Writer

As many of you know, I’ve had a busy couple of years promoting my humanitarian work in Africa, and during that time, book 2 has been rattling around in my brain. Now it’s time to get it out there.

So hang on – we’re in for a good ride! I think we’ve got a great opening chapter one (you’ll really wonder what Slim has gotten himself into) and I’m happy to say the rest is falling into place.

Remember – a merry heart does good like a medicine. That’s why we say that A Fine Day for a Drive is like ‘Hilarious Medicine for the Automotive Soul!’

Cheers,
Rick

Yes, A Fine Day For a Drive is now in e-book format, and at a great new price of only $9.95!

Author Rick Cogbill presenting a new Kobo e-book reader to Joao Benjamim, Manager of the ASAM farm in Mozambique.

I am a recent convert to e-books myself, having received a Kobo for my birthday just as I was leaving on a recent trip overseas. I can honestly testify that tucking one thin e-reader into your suitcase is a whole lot easier than packing along two months worth of reading material into the African bush.

Special thanks to my long-time friend and editor Laurie Carter of Little White Publishing for doing all the necessary techy things to make this popular collection of humor stories available on Amazon.com. Follow this link to purchase your copy today.

Cheers!
Rick Cogbill

PS Yes, in answer to the many reguests I have received, Book II of Slim’s adventures is in the works – I hope to have something available by this fall, so stay tuned!

A big thanks to Editor Jim Smith and Babcox Media for the kind invitation to be a part of this great magazine for tire and repair shops.

To all our loyal Canadian readers, don’t worry! This popular column for automotive technicians and shop owners will continue to be featured in Canadian Technician magazine.

So welcome to all our new readers, and if you’d like find out more about Slim Shambles and his wacky crew of wrench-pullers, then order up your own copy of A Fine Day for a Drive, the inside story on how it all started.

Click here to read a sample chapter,
or go to Slim’s online bookstore to purchase your personal signed copy of
A Fine Day for a Drive.

“Prepare to laugh until your face hurts as you enter the quirky and endearing world of Slim Shambles… More cleansing than bran flakes, this is one of those books you won’t just read, you’ll find yourself reading it to others.” - Phil Callaway, speaker and best-selling author of Laughing Matters

“Rick and his wacky band of characters have been making me spit out my morning coffee since 1998. You should see my office!”  —Allan Janssen, Editor, Canadian Technician magazine

Looking for some Christmas cheer?

Yes, once again we are offering FREE SHIPPING on all book orders between right now and Christmas 2011. So if you haven’t got your copy of this amazing literary work (and why haven’t you?), or if you need some holiday cheer to stuff into ol’ Grumpy’s Christmas stocking, then it don’t get any better than this.

Order today and beat the Christmas rush. All books ordered during this special offer will be personally autographed by the author – now how precious is that?

Cheers to all!
Rick Cogbill

We’ve had such a great response with our FREE SHIPPING Christmas Special that we’re going to continue it until further notice. So if you purchase A Fine Day for a Drive at the regular low price of $14.95 + gst, then we’ll pay the shipping – a savings of over $3.00 per book.

Now, if that don’t stir your coffee, then we don’t know what will…

However, those looking for something a little more exciting will be pleased to know that Rick is madly working on Book 2 in the Slim Shambles series. So if you run into him at your local Tim Horton’s, hunched over a scrap of lined paper with a stub of a pencil clutched in his sweaty hand and deeply lost (in thought), then don’t bother him…like everyone else, we’re tired of waiting for the next manuscript and we want him to get on with it.

Updates will be posted when available.

Finally, don’t forget to check out the Archives Page, where we’re slowly but surely posting back copies of The Car Side, the automotive humour column where it all started. Now in its thirteenth year, there’s a lot to read up on…

Here is a Book Review written by automotive columnist Todd Green for the Calgary Herald in December 2010. The review was distributed by Postmedia News and appeared in over a dozen papers across Canada, as well as on numerous media websites worldwide.

Another Book Review written by Terry Peters of the Northshore News in North Vancouver.

An article that appeared in the Summerland Review, July 2010.

Confused at Christmas?

For those of you wanting to get that extra something for the person who has a bad case of the grumpies, we’ve made it easier to give the gift of laughter this year – order a copy (or ten) of A Fine Day for a Drive, and we’ll pay all the shipping costs! That’s a savings of $3 per book.

Chapter Samples can be read here.

And if you need an interesting idea to help you keep in touch with your customers, see what Brad is doing over at AutoTrust Service in Stettler, Alberta. We think it’s pretty cool!

Finally, we’ve added a number of back-columns to our Archives page, so if you’ve missed an installment or two of The Car Side over the past 13 years, take a look.

And from our family to yours, here’s wishing you the merriest wishes possible in this Christmas season.

Rick & Nan Cogbill
SlimCookie Productions
Summerland, BC

I’ve just returned from two and a half weeks on the road

I also stopped in many, many automotive shops along the way, where I got to meet a lot of folks who are regular readers of Canadian Technician magazine, and along with it, The Car Side column. Some of the shop owners and technicians even insisted on getting their picture taken with me at their shop…all I can say is I hope there was no permenant damage to your cameras, guys.

I especially want to say thanks to Murray from Thunder and Lightening Automotive in Yorkton, Saskatchewan – my new green Rider Pride flag looks great in my office!

Thanks also to Todd Green (Automotive Instructor at SAIT) and Allan Haberman (Technical Instructor for Blue Streak Motor Products) for arranging a few speaking engagements in automotive apprenticeship classes, both in Calgary, AB and in Brandon, MB. Those were great experiences, and I hope to do more of that in the days ahead.

Upon returning home, I’ve arranged to have my books distributed through Red Tuque Books Inc, a book distribution company based in Penticton, BC. Hopefully this will mean fewer road trips for me and more time to continue working on Book 2 (Yes, the trials and tribulations of Slim Shambles will continue, so be patient, folks…I hope to have Slim’s next book out sometime in 2011).

So thanks to all who have purchased their own copies of A FINE DAY FOR A DRIVE, and a gentle reminder that Christmas is coming; what a great time to pick up a few more copies for Christmas presents, especially for those hard-to-buy-for people on your list!

AS A SPECIAL OFFER, from now until Christmas, we are offering to pay all the shipping costs on any book orders – that’s a savings of $3.00 per book! -  so why not visit Slim’s Bookstore right now and get your Christmas shopping done early.

Have a great fall!
Rick

Take a look at the updated sales map below and you’ll see that not only has A FINE DAY FOR A DRIVE been sold all across Canada (including the Yukon), but it’s also found a home in Mozambique, Africa, as well as in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

World Sales Map - June 2010

Yes, we are quite proud of ourselves…

With Father’s Day coming up soon, we wanted to make sure that A FINE DAY for a DRIVE was at the top of your list of Gifts For Dad!

So even if you already have your own copy, now’s the time to buy extras for Father’s Day, birthdays, or any other great occasion that will let you add a little humour into someone else’s life! Click here to go to Slim’s Bookstore.

But hurry…this offer ends July 1st!