I am going to a book signing tomorrow at The Book Exchange in Havasu.
There will be 10 authors. I hope I sell a book or two.
I got a letter from a second cousin telling me of the death of her brother. She didn't know I had lost my sister Dec, 10

We are all getting older. She mentioned cousins I never knew.
Sometimes I wonder why I'm still around, but I'm glad I am. I enjoy the company of long-time friends and meet knew ones often.
I still feel protective of all my children even though I can't help them much. At least I can listen and sympathize with them. I love to lurk on facebook and keep up with the younger ones. My grandchildren and their friends.

This new technology is mind blowing. I try to keep up, but my Cruz reader died and my cellphone didn't like its bath. lol I need to get out my book for my computer as it is not doing quite what I expect it to do.
I have a novel completed on paper but can't find my electronic back-up. Don't  remember where I stored it. Thumb drive or disc I hope I didn't put it on the floppy disc because I don't know where I could get it to run.That computer died a long time ago. well I better get some slep for my big day tomorrow!

My New Book

I can't believe I finally got back on my blog. I had thought it was history. Here goes. We celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary in JUne in Sturgis South Dakota where we were married. My most recent book Andy's Shock will be available soon in paperback. It can be ordered at http.//writelife.pinnaclecart.com/fiction/andys-shock/ I submitted a Christmas story to Muse-it-up Publishing and a Bea and Ben story to long-story-short, but haven't heard anything yet. I have several novels in the works, guess I'll have to concentrate and finish them. I've been publishing one a year for awhile, but, let's see. I have seven novels unfinished so .....I'll have to live to be 87 if I want to finish them all.Of course I will.

The new technology

Intelligent individuals have made gigantic strides in communication. People contact others by pushing speed dial on their telephones. They can snap a picture and send it to someone almost instantly. Computers make writing letters absolete, file cabinets are empty, information is stored in the computer and in discs and thumb drives.
An advertisement for a televion set that is also a computer recently caught my attention. What next? the television show, Person of Interest, may not be too far fetched.
More important, how has this access to our private lives improved humanity? In the field of medicine and improving health it has been dramatically useful. Records are more accurate, sharing of information and medical procedures are more precise. Criminals have become sophisticated. No need to rob banks when funds can be accessed by using the correct digital combinations on the computer.
Law enforcement and law makers utilize the telephone and computer to catch law breakers and
penalize them. Education of children from pre -school to universities has been greatly enhanced by computers.
They are here to stay.
I try my best to keep up with the times, but just when I see a light at the end of the tunnel changes are made, new ways to use Facebook, Twitter etc. and again I am left in the dark.

Anxiously Waiting

Last summer I entered a short story contest at Good Housekeeping magazine. They will declare the winners this month. It would be so nice to at least get honorable mention. They state that they will have no contact with entrants, so I guess I'll find out when the magazine comes out.
I sent my 3rd. revision of the novel, Andy's Shock, to Write Life Publishing. I thought it would be the final one, but I just received an e-mail saying that it will be edited again!
I met Jean Webster through church and she and I are going to review each others novels. I gave her Snap Decisions. It has been rejected several times. She right away told me she didn't like the main character, so I will have to sweeten her up a little. She gave me Becoming Margaret. I don't think she has ever submitted it to a publisher, but I enjoy reading it.
We became great-grandparents for the first time. Feb. 6th Emerson Whiteway is her name. They are calling her Emmy. (Thank goodness)I've seen her pictures, and she is cute.
I sent her a Disney gold bracelet. Nick made a coin collectors thing for her.
I have pretty much given up on Muse-it-up. I can't keep up with them technology wise. Don't know how to make a banner or do a web site.
I've pretty much given up on facebook too I waste too much time looking at it.

A New Year

I remember when I eagerly looked forward to the new year. Now it seems time goes too fast.
I guess that's what happens when you stop and realize there aren't too many New Years left in your life. Nick always told me, "Twenty years from now you'll forget all about it," when I would get into a snit about something. Twenty years from now I'll be almost 100 and will probably have forgotten everything. I love to visit with my grandchildren, but when they tell me about their life's ambitions including their retirement, I think "I won't be around then."
So I better just think about the present year and set goals for it.
1.
I will be great grandmother in February. I must think of something unique to honor her arrival. I don't scrapbook,paint, knit, crochet, or quilt. All I do is write. I pray the muse will be kind and inspire me.
2.
One grandson will graduate from high school in POrtland this spring. If I can't be there in body, I will in spirit.
3.
we will be celebrating our 60th. anniversary. HOpefully in Sturgis SD in the church where we were married in JUne of 1952.
4.
My new novel "Andy's Shock" will hopefully be published this year.

Ups and downs

When returning from a month-long vacation I went through my e-mails and learned that my royalty check was so small the publisher decided to wait to send the money until the next quarter in case some more of my books were sold.
I can't believe I only sold six books!
I went into a real funk and decided I would never write again.

Later I resumed going through more e-mails and found one from another publisher. She stated that they had received my latest revision and will be sending out further critiques. Guess that means they are still interested, right?

Maybe I won't quit writing after all.

Disagreeing With Editors

In my personal opinion, an editor must like your genre or they will not do a good job editing.I could never edit a vampire or paranormal book. (I was afraid of the story about the three billy goats and the troll when I was in school. The teacher finally burned the book so I would come back to school.)
I did have one editor who seemd to not like my book. She never once said anything good about it. We persevered, and it is now published.

y contribution to Letters to My Mother published by Adams Media begins with "Dear Mom, today my daughter, Jayna,..

I argued with the editor that I didn't need the words,'my daughter' as my mother was her grandmother and knew perfectly well who Jayna was. He insisted, and that is the way it was published.

I fussed about it to a friend one day. "But the reader didn't know Jayna was your daughter," he said. All of a sudden it made sense to me.

Aanother time in another anthology, the editor changed my protagonist from the younger brother to the older. I had to take a walk and calm down until I realized she was right. My story is in Summer Shorts published by Blooming Tree Press.
Please read the coomments given after my postings. They are informative as well.
Please tell me about experiences working with your editor. I will post again at eleven.