As I gain experience in writing and publishing, I've learned about book award programs. When I published Launching into the Unknown, I entered two contests. I was an Award Finallist in the Best Book Awards. It feels good to be able to say I'm an Award Winning author. I think that Life in a Tumble Dryer is better than Launching into the Unknown, so I've applied to three places for awards. We'll see how that works out. I've also asked for a professional review from Literary Titans. These will be helpful in making my book known, but reader reviews are the BEST of all gifts that you can give an author.

This weekend is my first virtual launch party. At long last, Life in a Tumble Dryer is available. I had the joy of discussing the book with some of my fans, and you can listen in on what they thought of the book. Harriet, as in Dear Harriet, makes an appearance you don't want to miss. Some of my fellow authors joined in as well as some of my readers. It was a delightful conversation hosted by Kathy Smith, one of the few people who came to visit me during the time-span of this book. You can watch the party here.
 

Most people like to play. They enjoy attending parties, going to the theater, watching plays, or going to concerts. Today I met a group of walkers who love to get out in nature and walk for a couple of hours. I, on the other hand, do not like to play. Something inside tells me I should be working, doing something productive, not out enjoying myself.

After listening to the news for 20 minutes this morning, I felt very sad. As I read Psalm 23, a lament prayer came to mind.

Restore my soul, O God of grace,
May I continue to seek your face.
The world has become such a confusing place.

After getting to know a number of young people of the Millennial and GenZ age groups, as well as looking back on my own life around the age of 20-something, I was inspired to rewrite Psalm 23 as many seem to be living it out.

You may notice, that I've been very silent on my blog since August. There's a reason for that: Life happened.I was away from home for 10 weeks, traveling to England and Kenya. When I returned in July, I expected to pick up life, once I'd recovered from jet lag, and carry on. I tried that for a few weeks, but finally realized it wasn't going to work. 

When life gets too stressful, what do you do to break the tension? If the stress is political, I stop listening to and reading the news. But sometimes, you can't escape that easily. So, I've had to make a conscious effort to find my "happy place" and make sure I go there regularly. Where is my place? At my computer, writing and editing my next book. If I didn't love doing those things, whey would I have become an author? The writing and editing are the fun parts for me. I love trying to find just the right word to fit a situation (and get rid of some overused words and phrases). My ProWritingAid program also tells me when I've put in too many unnecessary words. That gives me the challenge of shortening and tightening up my writing. When I reach my target score, I feel successful and pleased with myself.

These days, there are so many ways to publish a book! One can self-publish, hybrid-publish, or get an agent and have a publisher. There are pro's and con's to each choice. If you go with a standard publisher, they will indeed do everything for you, except promote your work. Unless you are in their top 10% best sellers, they will not help you. That means you may get stuck paying for the Book Launch, any travel to do a tour, purchasing copies of the book you may or may not be able to sell (or store). It is also difficult to get an agent. There are a lot of scams out there.

Self-publishing has become very popular. You can send a pdf to Amazon and have your book visible in days. However, if you have not paid a developmental editor (several thousand $), you may not have a well-written book.

Being away from home for 10 weeks did not help my publication schedule! My next book, Life in a Tumble Dryer, should have been available last weekend, but I haven't yet seen the final copy to approve it. Still, it is coming soon, so don't give up hope. Harriet agreed to read it for me (a pre-publication copy) and found it was more serious and more structured than Launching into the Unknown. That's because I refered more closely to the letters I wrote to my parents while I was away. I tried to write each week, and share bits and pieces of what was going on in my life. It's amazing how much I had forgotten. Hopefully, this added information will give you, the reader, a better picture of what life was like. 

After a year of work, Life in a Tumble Dryer, Working in the World's Hottest Capital, has been sent to the publisher. There's more to do before it comes out in July, but those are simpler tasks than completing the manuscript. You may wonder what that process is like. Well, here was my process for this book.

First, I used the relevant stories from my original book, Every Day But Not Some. It was published in 2006. However, when I finished running those stories through ProWritingAid and improving the style, language, and use of commas (my weakest point), I only had 50,000 words. I wanted the book to be 70,000. So, I pulled out the letters that I had written to my parents over those years. I discovered I had forgotten many details. In November, I wrote up new stories and ended up with 40,000 words. Whew! All the editing pared down the word count to 75,000.

The words in Isaiah 30:15 caught my attention a few days ago. It says, "in quietness and confidence is your strength." I don't know about you, but I feel very weak at times, especially when I'm busy. Maybe that's the price I pay for being an introvert. I've been praying for different situations in the world, and I quickly become overwhelmed. These words challenged me, and maybe the poem that came to me will help you if you feel similarly challenged.

Do you like to read? Have you ever wanted to meet the authors of the books you love? Do you want to discover more books of the type you most enjoy? Well, your opportunity is coming up next Saturday, February 24 at the Rose Glen Literary Festival in Sevierville, TN. You can enjoy 

50+ BOOK VENDORS & REGIONAL AUTHORS
FEATURED AUTHOR PRESENTATIONS
WRITER’S WORKSHOPS
POETRY SLAM
BOOK SIGNINGS

February 14 is Valentine's Day. It seems strange that the season of Lent should start on the same day, but that's how it works this year. In case you didn't know, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and continues for 40 days or six weeks. Sundays don't count as part of the Lenten season because Sunday celebrates the Resurrection! Traditionally, Christians fast from something during this time. I first fasted from chocolate. That was difficult, but it kept me focused on the season I was in. One year, God seemed to want me to play once a week. I failed miserably at that. A few years ago, I wrote a prayer of confession based on Scripture each day. Those prayers can be found in Prayers of Confession for Lent. Each Sunday has a prayer of praise or thanksgiving.

Yesterday, I had cataract surgery. Of course, I don't do anything the easy way. In 1995, I had RK done. That's where the doctor literally uses a very small knife to correct one's vision by cutting the outside of your eyeball. It didn't hurt, and I could instantly see. I've been contact-lense free ever since and never had another dream about running in a thick fog. Nowadays, the procedure is done with lasers and doesn't seem to cause the same problems. My doctor warned me there could be complications, but that if they arose, he would deal with it. When I went in for my checkup today, all I could see with my left eye was the big E. That was not the result the doctor had hoped for.

I've been using some sort of computer since the 1990s. I started with a Sharp that had a 48k bubble for memory. No one would ever need more than that, right? I actually produced my PhD dissertation on that, using back slash commands. Oh yes, and it had an 8 line screen! Thankfully, I've moved up as the opportunities present themselves and am now working with a Macbook Air. I love it. What I'm not loving today is the Internet. 

A young man spent some time in Khartoum in the late 1990s, and he tried to explain the Internet and how sites worked. He might as well have been speaking Chinese. It makes great sense now, but not back then. He asked me, "What question do you want to ask on the Internet?" I couldn't think of a thing. Now, I can't do without it. But today, it has been trying my patience.