Stop the World

 

November 2020 Blog

Not even sure whom I am petitioning anymore. Doubt anyone has the answer these days.

 

Cease and Desist: A Haiku

Stop the world and let

Me off, or barring that, give

Respite from the storms.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

But I do have #NaNoWriMo in November. So, for one whole month I can lose myself in writing my next novel.

I am sitting outside in the warm sunshine right now, which wouldn’t be strange except that we had eight inches of snow yesterday from a constant snow from two days before. Now it’s supposed to be over 70F in a couple of days.

It would be no wonder that everyone is getting sick, except for the fact that everybody has been getting sick for the last six months or so from that thing that has been going around that shall remain nameless from now on.

Not sure what my writing project for #NaNoWriMo will be. I should be able to finish the two novels I’ve been working on for the last two years – the sequel to “The Seasons of Sam Rock” and the prequel to my “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery”. A combined 50,000 words should do it.

I am currently basking in the glory of my newly released Haiku collection, “Global Warning: Climate in Crisis”:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KWQ6SHK/

For the remainder of the year, I am donating $1.00 from each book sold to https://www.planetbee.org/

They are dedicated to the education of children and adults on just how important bees are to our survival on this world.

At least I will feel that we have done something positive for the environment besides throwing words at the problem.

I hope all my readers and fellow writers have survived the Summer, and are heading into the Fall and Winter in good shape. We will need all our survival skills and a lot of luck to come through to the Spring intact.

I know a lot of things have to change before we can breathe easy again and expect to get some joy and satisfaction out of life. I won’t go into what changes we need to make.

All of my friends know where I stand and of what I write. I’m hoping the normal that was my life for so many years may be so again, and soon. I would like to spend my waning years with a modicum of the hope and pleasant anticipation for the future I grew accustomed to.

I smile just thinking about how I used to welcome the thought of retirement and leisure and travel and restaurants and concerts and ballgames and crowds – all maskless and gloveless. And, oh how I would love to hug someone.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, next month will find us all in the mood for some holiday festivities, as this month has not. Not anticipating any family gatherings or even going out to our favorite restaurant to enjoy their wonderful cuisine. Maybe some take-out, but somehow it’s just not the same.

 

 

 

Once Written

September 2019 Blog

I know I should always, always keep a working pen and pad of paper by my bedside. Maybe a pen light, too. But....

The Un-Recalled: A Haiku

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

The brilliance of the

Night before lies faint scribble

In the morning light.

Can’t believe the year is two-thirds over, or what yet dies undone. But that is another story for maybe next month when the year will be three-fourths over.

This month, I choose to bemoan all the brilliance lost over the years simply because I didn’t have a pen and paper ready. (Okay, maybe some of it wasn’t brilliant, but at the time it popped into my mind, it seemed like it was.)

The latest incidence of lost words occurred about a week ago. This month’s blog was going to be on mortality, and I had an idea (in the middle of the night) for a profound Haiku of monumental importance (again, middle-of-the-night-thinking).

My usual  pen and pad of paper was missing from its usual place next to my bed. Probably left wherever after the last time I jotted down an idea that came to me in the middle of the night. So, I grabbed a folded up section of newspaper and an odd pen from the  holder above my bed. What could possibly go wrong?

I carefully selected to write along the edge of the paper (in the margins) and confidently began to write down my innermost thoughts. (Did I mention I didn’t turn on a light so I wouldn’t wake my husband or the puppies?)

Several thoughts later, I carefully set pen and paper aside and returned to my night’s slumber, confident that I could retrieve my thoughts in the morning. (Please note that however much I try to memorize or recall what I’ve thought of in the night, by morning it is gone.)

Next morning, I grabbed the section of folded newspaper and searched for my prize-worthy jottings. What I discovered was that I had grabbed an old, almost dry red pen from the pile, and the writing trailed off the edge of the paper, faint and unintelligible. (My penmanship in the dark middle of the night isn’t the greatest either.)

Only a few words were visible and intelligible, and I couldn’t for the life of me remember the rest. I had jotted an entire Haiku and notes for the gist of the blog about a writer’s gift to eternity.

Okay, there seemed to be impressions – maybe all was not lost. I decided to try making a rubbing with a graphite pencil. I managed to find one – just one – actual number two pencil. (I use a mechanical pencil when I use a pencil at all.) Of course, it didn’t have a point, so I had to track down a pencil sharpener. Which is not so easy when you haven’t sharpened a pencil in years.

Those tasks completed, I proceeded to bring my writing back to life. Such a great idea – just rub the pencil lead over the grooves and voila!

Not so fast. Seems I didn’t press real hard the night before, and my brilliance did not pop  off the paper. I even had my husband try rubbing it again. Virtually nothing – I did retrieve the first line of the Haiku and the word “posthumously”, along with a few indecipherable words, but that’s about it. I am now looking for an art gum eraser so I can lightly rub over everything and try driving some graphite into the not-so-deep impressions. (A soft eraser is scarcer than the pencil and sharpener in my house.)

In the meantime, I’m tracking down a dedicated pad of paper and a good black pen to stow safely by my bedside. I used to have a pen that lit up when I used it, but I haven’t seen that in years. I did find a tiny book light, but I haven’t figured out how to open it up to put a new battery in it.

Lesson learned, at least for the moment: A writer needs to be able to write anywhere, anytime the muse strikes. If you can’t jot it down, chances are you won’t recall it later. You may remember the gist of it, but (especially if its poetry) you will lose the beauty of the word during the time lost until you can get it down on paper.

When I was driving a lot, I used to have a mini-tapey in my car to talk into – my only distraction before cell phones. It did the job. I hardly ever lost anything I thought of when I was driving. But that is not practical in the middle of the night. So, pen and paper it is.

This month I’m featuring “The Cottage” again. It is available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/ybobdpuy. The audio book has been delayed due to “technical diff”culties" – not the least of which is the cover art. The audio book people have very stringent requirements. Nevertheless, it will be done soon.

My featured poetry for August is My 2nd Haiku chapbook “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku, Volume Two: The Write Life”.  It is available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/ycnu2kvt . This one celebrates writing and the trials and tribulations that go with it.

Until next time, keep the faith. Keep writing and keep reading. Enjoy what makes you happy. There is far too little happiness in this world these days.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

As all of my books are available on Amazon, I’m also including a link to my Amazon Author’s page. Feel free to visit me there also:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003SH6HIQ

Author’s Choice

March 2019 Blog

We writers are a fortunate lot. We can escape reality (if only for a little while) and create our own world – one we have some say in.

Author’s Choice: A Haiku

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

What world shall I dwell

Within today? Perhaps one

Where peace, love abide.

Time to add to the body of my work. The weather is mild (far too mild for this time of year), and I can sit outside in the fresh air and write.

The second Castleweaver chapbook has gone live on Amazon, and getting it ready was quite a chore. Poetry and artwork are always a bear to format and the page numbers wouldn’t behave, so I eliminated them. (Something Eldreth the Castleweaver would so do.)

I am not happy with the demise of Create Space (Amazon’s original paperback publishing arm. It was easy to work with. I find Kindle Direct Publishing far harder with fewer viable options. I may have to check around for other options. (I’m not looking forward to doing that, because I hate change.)

In the meantime, I will write. Both the prequel and the sequel to Acqueria are calling to me, as is Sam Rock, and Eldreth insists I complete his novel. With the weather turning fair, there’s no reason not to get them done.

Besides, I need to go dwell in another universe for a while. It’s wonderful that writers have this option. I’m not finding the current reality a pleasant place to be. I would much prefer late 1940’s  Los Angeles, a booming place after the war and exciting to be in. Although, I was in Chicago at the time. It was also a wonderful place to be. Growing up there, we had nothing but good things to look forward to, including the technology of the future. Now is not so much wonderment as head-shaking bewilderment.

Women did have limited horizons back then, but even then it was changing. It continued to improve  until we almost had equality, and now – it just seems we are backsliding .

The world of Acqueria seems almost beckoning. Although its currently a patriarchal society, that is changing, and Sentia will have her say. Even pre-Acqueria, the Forest North was run by strong women, including a shamaness. They pretty much had things under control.

I might go back to Eldreth’s world, but women seem to die around him a lot – except for the Raven Woman – she was special. Could have been a witch (at least Eldreth thought so). May need to explore that and her world further.

Come to think of it, I have a spinoff short story about a young girl (Solan) with special powers who is turned over to the good wizard Tawold in Eldreth’s tales, so she won’t be subject to Eldreth’s whims. Not sure where that one will go. I may post it online somewhere. It’s actually suitable for middle-grade readers.

So, there’s not a dearth of thing to do – just a dearth of energy to do it all. I only have about one or two more chapters of the Sam Rock sequel left to write. Unfortunately, it will then require a complete rewrite as it meanders way too much and didn’t go where I needed it to go.

Not sure how my audio book of “The Seasons of Sam Rock” is coming along.  My narrator got married and went on a honeymoon.  I’m sure he’s super busy with his new life. We’ll have to see.

Actually, I got a couple of great ideas from said narrator about where he thought the sequel should go. So, I’ll be working on incorporating some of that.

March will find me far busier than February. I also need to work on the “Global Warning” Haiku chapbook. I think about it a lot as I sit outside in fair weather that isn’t due until April.

Until next time, keep the faith. Keep writing and keep reading. Enjoy what other universes may make you happy. Perhaps someday, even this one will match up to our ideals, but I’m not holding my breath.

Until that time, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

I’m also including a link to my Amazon’s Author’s page. Feel free to visit me there also:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003SH6HIQ

All of my books are available on Amazon.

This month’s featured novel is my 1940’s noir fiction “The Seasons of Sam Rock” https://tinyurl.com/ydftx4xq

        This month’s featured poetry chapbook is “The Castleweaver's Tales: The Madness Continues: 25th Anniversary Edition” https://tinyurl.com/y2up63fg

Momentary Madness

July 2018 Blog

Momentary Madness

I am not above being human. As a writer, I always celebrate another writer’s success. Sometimes, I have a momentary bout of greenness more commonly known as jealousy. It serves no one, and I get over it quickly. I would not begrudge anyone their deserved success.

Only Human: A Haiku

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

Green not becoming,

I’ll toast my fellow author

With the sweetest wine.

While watching “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Friday, June 29th, I momentarily turned green with envy.

There Jimmy was – announcing the winning book for the Tonight Show’s first ever summer reading club. #TonightShowSummerReads

It sounds like a great book, and I’m anxious to read it. It’s titled “Children of Blood and  Bone”  by a very young, new author, Tomi  Adeyemi, published by Macmillan.

The book is sure to hit the top of every bestseller list. I was elated for the book and the author. Then that little green man popped up on my shoulder (not a space alien – they are gray), and for just a moment, I matched his hue.

I was green with envy. Then I started the whole woe-is-me ritual: I will never, ever reach that pinnacle. She is so lucky. I wish I had her luck. I wish that was me. No matter how I struggle, that will never, ever be me.

I was about to ruin a good night’s sleep that was sorely needed. I wanted to finish formatting my new Haiku chapbook the next day so I can keep my publication target date of July 15^th.

Thinking about my own plans changed my thinking. Okay, she’s really lucky. I’m sure she’s also talented to be published by McMillan. I (and all the other #FalPals) will enjoy reading her book this summer along with Jimmy.

A smile crossed my face. (Okay, it didn’t, but it sounds good) I did get to thinking.  I’ve done the best I could with what I had. Now I know better, I can do better. (Thanks, Oprah!)

I am a published author, and nobody can take that away from me.  So I haven’t gotten the breaks and now I’m too old to go the traditional publishing route. (I could die in the two years it takes to get a book out.) But – I am published, (repeating myself here) and with a little more and better promotion, I’m sure I can become more widely known. I have no reason to covet someone else’s fame and fortune. (Well maybe J.K. Rowling, but I’m sure the Queen would even like some of that.)

I know I am but a minor poet and an even more minor novelist. I also know I’m the product of an age where women didn’t “do” and weren’t expected to.

Things are so different now. You can grab hold of a dream (even at a young age) and make it come true. You don’t have to “wait your turn”, “wait for the kids to grow up” or (the old classic) “pay your dues” before you can pursue your passion, expect to succeed or gain any sort of recognition.

Now you can do it all with the internet and the click of a mouse or your fingers and a smart phone. (Mine isn’t that smart.) And you can hold your head up high among the traditionalists. Self-publishing (now called Indie Publishing) is an acceptable route and the product does have a chance out there to vie for wide readership.

I’m still sticking to my publishing schedule for “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: The Write Life.” It will still go live on July 15^th. Also, the sequel to “Black Oak” will go live by August 31^st.  So, I’m busy and happy. In my spare time, I will read “Children of Blood and Bone” and clean house.

I would like to take a moment to say “Congratulations!” to Tomi Adeyemi on her very first novel and on it being selected as the first ever official #TonightShowSummerReads selection. I promise I will join my fellow #FalPals and Jimmy Fallon in reading it.

I promise I will also keep writing and publishing as long as I can. It is something I must do as the characters in my mind are wanting their release and I owe them that.

I will also continue to encourage others to write and follow their dreams as well. Creative writing cannot die. There must always be someone out there to take up the torch and put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard). Literacy must not die. We must write and we must read. We must also teach our children to read and to love reading as we do. Only in this way can we retain (or regain) the best of  our humanity.

On the Macular Degeneration front – it’s a slow progressing condition. I will never regain the clarity I have already lost, but I will probably die from my heart condition before I go blind. (I consider that a blessing.)

So here’s to a summer of reading and writing and publishing. It’s all to the good. Enjoy!

Until that time, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

I’m also including a link to my Amazon’s Author’s page. Feel free to visit me there also:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003SH6HIQ

All of my books are available on Amazon.

This month I am featuring Tomi Adeyemi’s “Children of Blood and Bone” available on Amazon. In fact, I’ve heard it’s their #1 Best Seller at the moment. Also you can join the #FalPals and Jimmy Fallon for the summer: #TonightShowSummerReads

Stardust

June 2018 Blog

The following poem in free verse form was started sometime after January 24, 2012. I have no recollection of starting it. It is now finished and will be part of an upcoming poetry chapbook entitled “Metamorph”.

Singularity (Free Verse)

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

I will write as I will write

And dream against a dream

Until such time as I shall sleep –

Silent,

Ashes drifting on the solar wind.

From birth to death –

My life between but spotted –

Ink and tears mingled, inseparable;

My oh so faint scribbling yet

Unerasable,

indelible.

Whether I am noted or a footnote

Or but a shadow in someone’s fading memory,

My thoughts will join the stars

To burst among the fiery suns

Or find space bent

And fall

Into the blackness of the void.

     Regardless of what I do or do not accomplish in this lifetime, I will rejoin  the Universe as stardust. To me, that is a comforting thought. Whether or not I rejoin the human race is of no consequence.  I will have returned to whence I came.

     There is little to report this month on any front. I have begun formatting my next Haiku chapbook, “The Write Life”. This one is for writers or readers who want to understand writers. I plan it to be inspirational, motivational and commiseratory in tone. I go through what every writer goes through, I’m sure. Perhaps I can encourage or even just amuse (or bemuse) others.

 It will be followed hard upon by the one I’m planning on climate change entitled “Global Warning”. That should be out midsummer, when it will be hotter than the depths of Hades and stormier than a Martian…

Climate change deniers are moving us closer to Doomsday than all the saber rattling in the world. I would hope to change some minds with this one.

My novels are stalled. There’s another death in the “Sam Rock” sequel. Everyone is rushing to see the body, but I don’t know who’s dead or who the killer is. I’m my own cliffhanger. Think I’ll jump in feet-first after I get this posted.

The “Black Oak” sequel is still screaming “final edit” before formatting. It contains even more amazing deaths perpetrated by my eclectic band of shapeshifters.  Best get at that, too, before they invade my dreams.

On the home front, my “retina specialist” says if I take my A REDS 2 supplement, wear sunglasses outside, use extra light and magnification, and see him every six months, I should die before my eyes give out. Okay, he said I should be able to see for the next ten years. (if with some difficulty).  I personally don’t plan on living that long, but it would be nice.

In the meantime, the computer screen is getting harder and harder to read, especially when the type and the boxes are blue or green. Those are rapidly fading against the white background. Even black print looks gray unless I make it larger and bold. But at least I can still see.

I’ve also noticed that magazines are getting harder to read. I swear the type is getting smaller. (I may not be wrong about that) . And have you noticed the “fine print” lately? For me, it’s even finer. It also seems package designers think it’s really clever to put yellow type on white backgrounds – that’s hard on two good eyes, let alone those with compromised vision.

I may start advocating on social media for the vision impaired. I don’t think they are giving much consideration by the powers that be – all over the internet and across all media platforms.

Twitter is the worst. They have so many color schemes that just disappear into oblivion. So clever – NOT. And finding the “color adjust” settings on most browsers is nearly impossible. It seems when you do find them and try to employ them, they change other screen settings, making it difficult to adjust to a screen you can live with across the board.

So, this month, I’ve pretty much played it by ear and done what I could, making small adjustments here and there. Not sure what the future may bring, but I’ll soldier on and do what I can to clear out my “Works In Progress” projects before whichever expiration date comes first.

 I’d like to leave you with this thought; None of my problems is any excuse for not making far more progress than I have. I’d like to think that my writer readers will see this and determine to do far better than I have. At least I will have inspired someone.

In next month’s blog, I will continue to journal my progress, both on the writing front and the vision front. Until that time, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

I’m also including a link to my Amazon’s Author’s page. Feel free to visit me there also:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003SH6HIQ

All of my books are available on Amazon.

June’s featured novel is my paranormal Western “Black Oak: Town of Joy” http://tinyurl.com/hohuhce 

June’s featured poetry chapbook is “The Castleweaver's Tales: A Dozen Glimpses of Medieval Madness: 25th Anniversary Edition”  https://tinyurl.com/ybllonvw

The Darkening

May 2018 Blog

While I can see, I must be about finishing my manuscripts and publishing them. I can no longer look to the future.

The Darkening: A Haiku

Against ensuing

Blackness, I would enjoy what

Light I am allowed.

Life Sucks and then you die - and life still sucks - so says George in the series "Dead Like Me" and she knows.

The time to do my “to do” list has just been shortened considerably.

I’ve been wondering why everything seems so dark all the time.  Then I closed my right eye one day and saw only clouded images in my left. So I go to the doctor (after a few months). I have cataracts, right? Yep,  in both eyes actually. But that’s not the real problem. They are not worth operating on.

What the real problem is, is inoperable. I have Macular Degeneration. Something I thought only other people got. I didn’t realize it was an insidious, creeping condition that takes you unaware. The only thing that might halt or slow it down, seems to be a vitamin/mineral supplement concoction called A REDS-2, which I started taking on April 11^th, the day after my startling diagnosis. But it’s not a cure-all and I am going blind.

How soon? Don’t know.  Hopefully the retina specialist I’ve been referred to can tell me,  but he won’t be in town until May 24^th. (We have very limited resources here in the “UFO Capitol of the World”.)

In the meantime, while I can see (especially to format), I need to publish everything I can. Guess it’s also time to get those audio-books started. I’m going to be depending on those soon. My guess is, a lot of others enjoy them for the same reason.

I guess “through a glass, darkly,” will have different meaning for me now, as I assume everything will fade away to darkness.

I have added an additional task – that of studying Macular Degeneration to see what I can expect. I may even write about – if only to warn others out there that it does exist and you must do everything you can to protect yourself.

So far, I understand that one really does need to wear sunglasses, taking an A-Reds 2 supplement for the last few years (could) have helped, and the heavy doses of diuretics I take for my congestive heart failure condition probably hasn’t done my eyes any good.  I need to learn more.

On the writing front (after spending some time on self-pity) I have gotten back to writing. I’ll be finishing my Seasons of Sam Rock sequel soon.  I’ve also started formatting my next poetry chapbook, “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku: Volume Two: The Write Life”. Getting a good start on that should help with my subsequent releases, as I’ll only have to plug into the template. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

My next novel release will be the sequel to Black Oak. I just have to polish the manuscript, format and publish as well. Okay, I have to find the files first. I swear they are here somewhere. Really, I have a hard copy in a file box somewhere, and I have computer files saved from my old dead computer. Honestly, all I have to do is track them down. They are somewhere on my new half-Terrabyte hard drive and one or the other of my one-Terrabyte external hard drives. My computer guys did so much copying and saving, I may have multiple copies.

Guess I really should straighten all that out. My Norton security scans says I have over 1 million files on each drive. But, it’s really hard for me to stare at the screen much anymore.

By-the way, computer people, do you know that those of us with compromised eyesight can’t see all your fancy color concoctions? Your clever pale blues and pinks and light greens and (especially) yellow just fade into the white background. Those fill-in boxes are getting harder and harder to see. And the browser geniuses don’t seem to offer a display option that would benefit such impairment.

So, now, I muddle along, enjoying the visions before me less and less. But, while I can see, I need (more than ever) to get my last month’s ducks in some kind of order.

I also need to teach my husband how to pay the bills. He hasn’t paid a bill in over 31 years of marriage. He’s definitely going to have to learn to compromise and juggle, as I have done all the years – managing, somehow, to keep a roof over our heads and the lights, heat and water on. Oh, joy, won’t that be fun?

In next month’s blog, I will journal my progress, both on the writing front and the vision front. As I end this month’s blog, let me share another Haiku – appropriate to the way I feel right now.

It is this: Some days it doesn’t pay to think; other days, it’s just too painful.

Timeout: A Haiku

I’ll not be thinking

Today; my brain is tired,

And it needs to rest.

Until next month, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

This month, I’m including a link to my Amazon’s Author’s page. Feel free to visit me there also:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003SH6HIQ

All of my books are available on Amazon.

May’s featured novel is my Middle Grade sci-fi offering: “The Aurora UFO Incident - A Novel” https://tinyurl.com/yb875xw4

This month’s featured poetry chapbook is again “Life's Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku: Volume One: One for the Book” http://tinyurl.com/zuayqu8

DO-OVER

March 2018 Blog

Do-Over

I’d like this to be my last time on Earth, for I am stardust and must rejoin the Universe.

Do Over: A Haiku

I’d not wait ‘til my

Next incarnation; I’d like

To get life right now.

Can I just start the year over again? I can’t believe that two months have slipped by already.

It’s not that I haven’t done anything in two months. It’s that what I’ve done has amounted to little actual accomplishment.

Maybe this month will be different. I’m calling for a do-over.  Oh, I know I can’t get January and February back. I’m just calling for an early reset so that the rest of the year doesn’t slip away.

I think I’ll start the month with promotion. I just got this neat book by Rachel Thompson (Bad Redhead Media) called “30-Day Book Marketing Challenge.” I’m about to plunge into it.

Okay, so I got the book a couple of three weeks ago and started it once, but as usual, I got sidetracked with life and only made it through Week One – the week on Twitter promotions.

So, for my do-over, I’m starting again. I’m taking the 30-day challenge from the beginning for the month of March.

Hope I can learn to boost my sales for the rest of the year. Social Security just doesn’t stretch too far these days. My writing needs to step up and fill the gap.

I’m checking my backlist of books available on Amazon. I’m only counting seven published. (Somehow I thought it should be nine. Don’t know how that happened.) Besides promoting what I have published, I need to double my output. Actually, I could triple it with all the Haiku chapbooks I have started.

I also need to get my books on audio. I can’t believe I haven’t done that yet. So many people “listen” to books these days. It’s ridiculous I haven’t even tapped this outlet.

I may even need to set up a studio to read the poetry books myself. Although I’m sure there are some excellent poetry readers out there, no one can know all the nuances that a poet thinks into the writing of a poem.

Besides, I love reading my poems and have always enjoyed recitations of my work. Guess I’m just a ham at heart.

Lots of other things I’d like to restart this year, but life is a linear progression. Although the older you get, it seems to tend to the exponential. It will suffice if I get my “authoring” life in order. Other things may naturally fall in line.

Back to the neat book I’ve acquired from my favorite source – Amazon, of course. I bought a hard copy of the “30-Day Book Marketing Challenge” because I love to make notes and mark up the pages.

I’m glad I also acquired the Kindle version, because there are so many links to so much great information. And the links are live in the Kindle version. I’ll take a live link any day to having to type a long string of words and symbols and then getting them wrong.

My current manuscript now has the dubious honor of having taken the longest to write of any of my novels ever. I’ve done pretty well on it so far this year. I’m planning to finish it by Easter. Actually, it’s my 40-days of Lent project, but I’ve missed a few days. So, I’ll be practicing catch-up again. (When am I not?)

I’m about to get distracted again. I’m outside, sitting in the sun and the wind, watching a squirrel skitter along the fence behind the only one of my dogs who has braved the wind with me.

The squirrels love to play games, it seems. They manage to stay one step ahead of the dogs, although sometimes, just barely.

I’m also listening to the birds chirping for their afternoon offering of seeds. They (and the squirrels) have become my morning and afternoon companions. There is nothing more freeing (to me, at least) than to sit in my backyard with pen and paper and write amidst birdsong and squirrel antics.

Thank goodness winter has been cooperative. We’ve had the mildest winter in years (which probably doesn’t bode well in the wake of climate change and global warming.)

That reminds me, one of my Haiku chapbooks will be titled “Global Warning”. I’m gathering a lot of my Earth and weather-related Haiku for that one. It will come out after my next one – on writing.

I hate to think what will happen to our children’s children’s future. I’ve noticed the changes even in my lifetime. If we do nothing about it, the future will be far different from the past – and not to the good of mankind.

As I look forward to the long month of March and the beginning of spring, I would advise the writers among my readers to double down on their efforts. Write whenever and however you can. Edit what you’ve written to the eye of the reader. Publish your best efforts – cast you work upon the waters. You never know who’s going to swim by and lap it up (my unabashed cliché for the month).  And then promote, promote, promote.

Until next month, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

All of my books are available on Amazon.

This month’s featured novel is my 1940’s noir fiction “The Seasons of Sam Rock” https://tinyurl.com/ydftx4xq

This month’s featured poetry chapbook is “Life's Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku: Volume One: One for the Book” http://tinyurl.com/zuayqu8