I’m launching my novel “A Friend Like Frank” on my own. That is to say, no official “publisher” involved. It’s an experiment. You see, I’ve done it the old fashioned way: send a manuscript to one publisher after another, year after year, rejection after rejection. I eventually did succeed in getting “Adeline” published by an old fashioned publisher and although it did a lot for my self esteem, it hasn’t done much for my pocketbook. I’ll need to work hard selling as many copies of “Adeline” as possible for many years before I ever see a royalty check. So, I decided to try publishing via electronically. “A Friend Like Frank” is available for Kindle users, through Amazon as an e-book exclusively for ninety days. No published manuscript, no new book smell or raised letters on the cover. Just words on the flat Kindle screen. It’s sure different, but I kind of like it. There are definite pros and cons, most of them obvious and I think I’ll be one of those people who opt for both. The convenience of the Kindle makes it tremendously attractive, yet an actual printed book on a rainy day with a hot cup of coffee…
So I Bought a Kindle
Yes, I broke down and joined the millions of Americans flashing their e-readers like a new Mercedes-Benz. I’m cool now. I can and surely will load two thousand books onto my paper thin devise, all for $0.99 apiece, and all best sellers. I will spend the rest of my life with my nose in a whole new kind of book. Actually, I must admit, I like it. You can take it anywhere and it weighs nothing. There is no problem seeing it in the sunshine if you happen to be so lucky as to be anywhere near sunshine. I’m going to take it on a test drive in Hawaii in a few weeks. That should be fun. I never thought I’d be the kind of person who would like reading great novels from an electronic device. The smell and feel and cover of a book is so important to me, as though the character is somewhat defined by it. Yet the convenience of traveling without the weight and bulk of an actual book is liberating. I have ten novels in my purse taking up no space at all! It’s much easier to use and understand than an i pad or…
Filling the Void
It’s been a while since the kids left home. We were ready to be a couple again, to do our own thing and call an end to the never ceasing parental duties. Yet, we were surprised at how easily we adjusted to our empty-nest. I think it took all of fifteen minutes. Seven years have gone by since the last one struck out on his own and although we’ve been having a great time we’ve recently felt that something was missing. Or maybe not something, more like someone. Could it be….well, yes, we have to admit…we’ve been missing the kids. A bit of soul searching opened out eyes to the fact that what we were really ready for, was grand-parenting! On Thanksgiving, our son and daughter-in-law announced they had an early Christmas gift for us to open. The package was small and light. We opened it to find a very pretty picture frame with an amazing ultrasound photograph of our very first grand child. It’s a boy! I can’t explain how happy I’ve been since the news. I can hardly wait to hold him, rock for hours with him snuggled in my arms, feel the soft fuzzy head under my…
10 Things I Won’t Do in 2012
Making those New Year Resolutions year after year is ridiculous for someone like me. I’m like a dog on a race track; take the rabbit out of my site and I’ve nothing to keep me going. Same with the resolutions. The end result is so far down the road I either forget or give up before the end of January. This year I’m going to make a list of ten things I resolve not to do and stick with it. For example: I’m resolving not to go to bed without brushing my teeth no matter how tired I am. I do that sometimes and when you really think about it, that’s just disgusting. Another thing I’m resolving not to do is over eat to the point that my stomach hurts, like I did at Christmas. My stomach would have been much more comfortable if only I’d stopped at full. But Oh No! I just had to push it to the limit – you know, when you have to unbutton your pants so you can breath. I figure I’ll lose a few pounds that way too. Another thing I’m not going to do is let anyone or anything stop me from…
The Older We Get…
A A friend sent me the above card the other day – in the mail, you know, the old fashioned way. I love getting cards in the mail. It’s so infrequent any more. Anyway, the card had me laughing for hours. Every time I looked at it I started laughing all over again. I simply couldn’t get enough. I even carried the card around with me and set it on the kitchen windowsill so I could look at it while I was doing dishes, and in the laundry room when I was folding and ironing clothes. I’d just glance over and start laughing. I’ve got you wondering, don’t I? It’s a great card, but it’s one of those you have to be a little older to appreciate. It says, “The older we get…the less concerned we are with appearances.” On the cover is an elderly man, I’d say mid-eighties, mowing his lawn on what appears to be a lovely day. His wife is sitting in a lawn chair sipping tea and enjoying being outside in the warm fresh air. I’d say she is the same age as he is. The hilarious thing about this couple, I don’t know if…
Wagon’s Ho!
This is the time of year to head over Stevens Pass and spend a day in Leavenworth. The drive is extraordinary, autumn on display like diamonds in a jewelers window. The river winds around the highway, or maybe it’s the other way around, white water in places, stillness in others, salmon easy to spot. When my husband and I make the drive it takes us forever to arrive at our destination. We have to pull over continuously to take it all in. It’s impossible to appreciate the magnificence flying by at fifty miles an hour. Colors of fire cover the mountains, rushing water, towering evergreens, traces of snow, all wrapped up in a days drive. And the air is as fresh as a new baby. Upon arriving, Leavenworth is striking. The Bavarian Village transports visitors into a whole new world. Mountains encircle and tower over a village filled with the constant whir of activities and celebrations. I can hardly wait to get out of the car and begin to explore. There are a few favorite places I can’t wait to visit; the hat shop being one of them. It has more hats piled into one little store than sardines…
The Thing About Fall
It’s beautiful this time of year. The changing colors of the leaves, the wind whistling through the forest and the house, and the temperature dropping into the wool sweater zone. Everything changes so drastically in the fall, so obviously and so impossible to ignore. And there is nothing we can do to stop it. It makes me think about life in general and about relationships. Things change. Our bodies get older, our experiences hopefully make us wiser, and people weave in and out of our lives. Are you ever amazed by the way people change? There are those I’ve known for years yet discover through a turn of events, I’ve never really known them at all. And then there are those who’s lives change so drastically we no longer have a common bond and sure enough, the time comes when you realize you have drifted apart. I guess that’s why family is so important. We need to know there are those in our lives that won’t fade away, won’t change so much we hardly recognize them, and won’t forget us. Siblings are so important – who else do we know from the get go? Who else do we share those…
Testing the Water
While the majority of society forges ahead, myself and a handful of others gingerly test the waters. We have an aversion to technology yet we are aware we must surround ourselves with all kinds of technology in order to stay out of the department of dinosaurs. I know people who are there. They refuse to own a computer or a cell phone or anything else modern and awesome. I might be afraid of the tech-y stuff, but I’m blown away by it and constantly try to wrap my brain around it whenever I can. I admit I almost always need someone to hold my hand as I venture out, as though I were taking a walk on the moon. When no one is looking, I experiment on my own. Sometimes I’m actually successful, and then other times…well, you know. So, I’m proud to announce the picture above was taken from my very own digital camera and I posted it on this blog without anyone else in the room. I know…most of you have been doing this since you were born. But I haven’t’ and it’s a big deal to me! I’m going to be taking my camera everywhere…
A Sliver of Significants
I was struck by the beauty of the moon at dawn today. Although it was a mere sliver, it was intensely brilliant, as though making a statement, or several statements. As the saying goes, great things come in small packages. What might appear to be insignificant occasionally surprises us. Take for example a puppy. A retiring couple we know recently adopted a puppy they’ve been eagerly awaiting; a rat terrier. She is so tiny we were sure to watch our step around her, terrified we’d break bones if she were stepped on. She might be tiny, but the impact this little dog is having on her new parents is enormous! Suddenly, their lives are no longer their own. Their sleep is constantly interrupted, they take her in and out, in and out, cheering on her tiny bowels and bladder. Hold her, console her, love her. She weighs five pounds. Her itty-bitty self is huge. Same thing goes for babies, of course. We are fooled, as naive young parents, by the size of the person coming home with us. We think we’ll always be the boss of them, don’t we? Yet, as the years fly by, we are blown away by…
Letting Go of Control
Have you ever noticed how seldom long term plans pan out? Life just gets in the way and nothing ends up “being” as we thought it would by now. What happened? Seriously, what happened to our economy and our retirement funds? Where’s all that home equity we used to be able to count on? And why don’t I still look like I did when I was forty? I work on it; work out all the time. Try an assortment of wrinkle-be-gone and youth enhancing creams. Do yoga. What the heck? I’m starting to look like the women I always see and tell myself “you will never look like that!” And, as long as I’m going to look like a grandma, where are the grand-kids? I’m sick of pretending all those dogs are grandchildren. They’re not! It’s a good thing I waited this long to get a tattoo. Now I see what parts of me are staying in place so I won’t end up with a saggy tattoo. The end is close enough for me to trust if I have it put it on my “end” it will swing low around my knees right where it is anyway. Hopefully, it won’t…