Residue

February 2020 Blog

No restart is completely clean. There will always be residue from past actions – or inactions.

Own Your Slate: A Haiku

It matters not how

Many times you clean your slate,

You own what was there.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

Unfortunately, the New Year has started with flus and rumors of flus and just feeling kind of crappy. Hopefully, that will pass and I can get started on all my sparkling new and tarnished old projects.

“The Chronicles of Acqueria: The Early Years” manuscript is almost complete and ready for its final edit. Then I can get back to revamping my “Sam Rock” sequel. Looking forward to seeing if Sam can get the best of his arch nemesis, Marie Delacroix, and her murder of ravens.

I’m sitting outside in the middle of winter writing this, and it does not make me happy. Since the weather has been so mild this winter, I am afraid the coming summer will be more brutal than last year. I’m not looking forward to that. I’ve also been following the devastating fires in Australia, and I am just heartsick. But that’s another story and an impetus to get “Global Warning” published on time.

So, back to now: I’ve decided to add more promotion to my agenda this year. It’s something that all authors need to do. I abhor it, but it is necessary. How else are your yet-undiscovered faithful readers going to learn what you have to offer?

I’ll be studying places like https://allauthor.com/  and https://eprintedbooks.com/ and https://booksoffice.com/ as well as delving more deeply into what Amazon has to offer. Then there’s https://www.acx.com/ (the Audible.com publishing arm) and their great cadre of talented narrators willing to take a chance on an unproven author.

They all offer promotion ideas just waiting to be taken advantage of.

It takes concentrated effort, though, to follow through on all their concepts and protocols, and one does have to get over the reluctance to “blow one’s own horn”.

Maybe I should try to put on a different hat and pretend I’m someone else blowing that horn.

Also, I’ll be getting back to my copy of “30-Day Book Marketing Challenge” to promote my books (https://smile.amazon.com/BadRedhead-Media-30-Day-Marketing-Challenge-ebook/dp/  )  I never made it past day 3, Perhaps this time is the charm.

I need to make my time spent on social media more productive. I’ve heard it is possible that you can get more results for your likes and retweets and friends than I’ve been getting.

Moreover, if I limit the time I spend on the internet, I can certainly find more time to write. Make all the characters currently rummaging around in my head (basically in limbo) happy to at least and at last take their place on the page.

Then it’s up to Amazon to spread their joy to the world. Well, at least in my little mind it should work that way.

The more I think of it, the more wonderful this age is for independent authors. Everything you ever needed or wanted to know is just a “Google” away.

You can get help with your writing, composition, and grammar. You can research any topic you want from any time period. It’s all there for the gleaning. Then, you can find agents and promoters and editors. It’s all laid out for you.

If you decide to self-publish, all kinds of help is available down to the step-by-step processes and all kinds of templates to format your manuscript.

Even your cover is waiting for you on somebody’s site and at a wide range of prices – from what’s available on https://www.fiverr.com/ to higher priced artists just waiting for you to contact them.

As few as ten years back, you didn’t have such a wide-range of possibilities and “self-published” authors were frowned upon.  Now, there’s just as much chance to be an award-winning author, even if you do it all on your own.

And I surely don’t  mind having my books up there on Amazon right next to Stephen King’s books.             I’d love to have them together on a bookstore shelf somewhere, but there aren’t many of those around anymore.

So, so far this year is full of possibilities, and I am looking forward to exploring as many as I can.

As I cannot erase the past, I intend to use it as a foundation for the building blocks of the present. It may be a bumpy ride, but hopefully it will be somewhat fun as well. At my age a little fun is hard to come by, and I want to embrace all that comes my way.

As to the future, long-range plans are no longer viable, but I should make it through this year, hopefully somewhat intact. We will see what February brings.

This month, I finally plan on finishing “The Early Years” manuscript. I also plan on loosely formatting “Global Warning” and look forward to promoting my backlist of novels and poetry already available for public consumption.

This month, I’m featuring “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery”. It is a young adult coming-of-age story of a strong young lady growing up in a patriarchal society. See how she copes. Available from Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/y96zzp9u

My featured poetry for February is “The Castleweaver's Tales: A Dozen Glimpses of Medieval Madness: 25th Anniv. Ed” – available from Amazon at: https://tinyurl.com/y9d8czj4

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

Renewed!

January 2020 Blog

We, who survived the year just past, let us rejoice in the present.

Renewed: A Haiku

Salute! And Welcome!

The New Year lives and breathes and

I along with it.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

The above is Haiku #2192. I posted Haiku #1 on Twitter on Jan 1, 2014. Like the Energizer Bunny, I just keep going and going and...

It is time to rejoice.  We have been given a brand new year. It is also time to hope that we make better use of it and our resources than we did in 2019.

For  me, that would mean more writing, more editing and more publishing – more of the things that matter and less of the things that don’t.

I also need to find a writing space inside, since winter has finally taken hold, and even in the sun, it is too cold for me to write outside in my beloved backyard.

Right now, I’m considering writing in bed, under the quilts, listening to classical music. Think that will be my best bet.  I’m sure the puppies will want to snuggle up and help. (As I am writing this, I’m sitting outside in the cold sun, freezing my little fingers off. Not sure where my gloves are.)

But regardless of where I decide to write, I need to write – like Stephen King says to do – at least 1,000 words a day. (Seems to work for him, although I’m certain he writes more than that.)

I also need to set aside a bigger chunk of time for editing, publishing and promotion. The last being my least favorite thing to do.  I never could sell anything – not even real estate. (Tried that back in the ‘70’s.)

I’m actually looking forward to this year. It’s brand new and comes full of promise. We should all see what we can do with it, explore all it has to offer, and choose its best.

The best for me will come with sequels and prequels published along with my protest of climate change denial. I need to add my voice to Greta Thunberg’s and Jane Fonda’s and do what I can to help more people realize that we are indeed close to the tipping point – that point beyond which we can do nothing to reverse the damage we have done to this Earth.

My voice may not be as loud as the two I have mentioned, but I would join their chorus gladly and shout “Climate Change Emergency” to the rooftops.

I’m also anxious to get more audio books released. I’ve had such great response to “The Cottage” audio book narrated so brilliantly by Christine Brewer that I can’t wait to see how my other novels do.

“The Seasons of Sam Rock” narrated by Steve Hamm is in final editing. I’m going to put “The Aurora UFO Incident - A Novel” out for audition next and then “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery”. They all deserve to have their own voice – so to speak.

The newly scheduled publication date for “Global Warning” is now Earth Day (April 22, 2020).  Couldn’t  think of a more appropriate day.

Hopefully, with the renewed interest of so many people, this Haiku collection will help spread the word that the Earth is in trouble, and the entire world needs to act to stop the damage from getting worse –  if we cannot reverse what we have done.

I am still looking for an environmental group to which to donate $1.00 of the proceeds from the sale of each book. Haven’t made a decision on that yet.

To all my writer friends out there, let’s make 2020 a great year for getting those manuscripts in tip-top shape. Ready to publish or ready to hit the market in search of an agent or publisher. We can do this. We are writers. That’s what we do, and that’s what makes us happiest.

To all my faithful readers out there, I will have more new novels and poetry chapbooks out there for your reading pleasure, and soon.

I will be drawing up a project matrix that I actually intend to follow this year. So you will be seeing the prequel to “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery”, the sequel to “The Seasons of Sam Rock”, the novel version of “The Castleweaver”, and several Haiku Chapbooks along with “Global Warning”.

I will also be republishing the long lost “Rainbows and Unicorns”, since I recently found the original poetry that went into it.

Busy, busy, busy, as I am sure you will all be also. So, here’s to a great 2020!  May our weather be moderate, our creativity at its peak, and our valiant efforts be rewarded.

This month, I’m featuring “The Aurora UFO Incident - A Novel”. It is available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/yb875xw4 . I’ll be starting the #AudioBook process soon for release this summer. It is suitable for middle-grade and above, so the whole family can enjoy it.

My featured poetry for January is  “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku, Volume One: One For The Book” – available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/ycnu2kvt . It features comments from some of my Twitter friends (some of whom are no longer with us – may they rest in peace) It is one of my favorite collections.

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

What’s Up?

December 2019 Blog

There are myriad answers to this simple question – endless even.

What’s Up? A Haiku

Simple question – so

Many answers, from “All’s good!”

To the worst: “Nothing”.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

Today is December 1, 2019 – the first day of the last month of this year.  The most obvious answer to “What’s Up?” is the year. For all intents and purposes, it’s pretty much over.

Since my birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year, I am doubly thankful. First, that I survived another year on this earth, and second that I still have all my faculties (well, reasonably so).

I am not happy with my lack of progress this year. Just figured out there’s a couple of ways I can handle that. I can bemoan the fact and be miserable, or I can look forward to doing better next year.

For sanity’s sake (mine and that of my dear husband who types all this and my novels), I’ve chosen the latter path. I’m going to spend December wrapping up the year and actually making a plan for next year (in which I accomplish amazing things).

Hey, at my age, it’s better to look forward than to look back. Although my horizons may be limited, I still have horizons, and I intend to pursue them.

My biggest accomplishment this year was getting the #audiobook version of “The Cottage out there for all to hear and appreciate. There’s a link in my “featured” section. I also have a few codes left for free promos for my friends and readers out there who would like to hear the brilliant job that Christine Brewer does on the narration. Just let me know.

I have a lot more to look forward to. I’m just finishing up my “Chronicles of Acqueria: The Early Years” and should have it ready for publication by spring.

Eldreth is bugging me to finish his novel, and Sam Rock would really like his sequel published.  He really wants to put an end to his nemesis Marie Delacroix (or maybe not).

I’m also way behind on my Haiku chapbook and am currently reviving my interest in some longer, rhyming works that have languished over the years.

Then there’s the Chronicles of Acqueria sequel “Homecoming” and the stand alone Forest-North epic “Shadra’s Song”.

All are waiting for me to put pen to paper. (Plus my DH needs to keep his typing skills up.)

I’m writing this outside while the sun is shining, therefore I’m in a good mood. Although  Winter has barely started, I’m already suffering from S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder). The grayness of the cloudy and stormy days really gets me down – even more so with my Macular Degeneration affecting how much light I can see. As it progresses, things are getting darker and darker. But I can still see and I’m grateful for that.

So here I sit and write. I am in my glory. Happy as a clam or whatever is happy in a warm hooded jacket, wrapped in a blanket, sitting on a lawn chair, smiling.

I really don’t want to quit and go inside, but duty and household chores beckon, and I must oblige. So here’s to the happiest of holidays and the greatest of New Years to you and yours – and world peace and harmony while I’m at it. (I might as well think big.)

This month, in honor of its #audiobook debut, I’m featuring “The Cottage”. It is available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/ybobdpuy. Also, if you’d like a code for a free listen, contact me. I’ve got a few promo codes left. And here’s the link to the #audiobook itself: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0816RWMXY/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-171456&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_171456_rh_us

At Eldreth’s request, my featured poetry for December will be both Castleweaver Chapbooks:  “The Castleweaver's Tales: A Dozen Glimpses of Medieval Madness: 25th Anniv. Ed” – available from Amazon at: https://tinyurl.com/y9d8czj4  and “The Castleweaver’s Tales: The Madness Continues”  https://tinyurl.com/y2up63fg

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

Write On

November 2019 Blog

Today is the first day of the rest of my writing life, again.

Write Away: A Haiku

NaNoWriMo reigns

Supreme, demands I fulfill

Declared prophesy.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

Today is November 1, 2019 – the first day of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month – https://nanowrimo.org) for this year and their 20^th Anniversary, I have been participating for most of those years, if not all. It seems their records only go back to 2011. I have penned at least 50,000 words each of those years.

50,000 words are not enough for a full-length novel, so I always tried to finish in December with NaNoFiMo (National Novel Finishing Month), but I’m not sure they still exist. Haven't seen a NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editing Month) for a while either.

This year will be no different, except I’ll do my 1,667-2,000 words with more determination this year, since I really need to complete all my projects. One never knows when one won’t be able to do it anymore.

Once again, I’ll try to finish by November 28^th, which is my birthday – a lovely little present to myself.

It still takes about 2 ½ hours a day to accomplish the writing goal. Haven’t figured out a way yet to write any faster, and it’s about the fastest my little fingers can fly. I still write with pen and paper and my dear husband still types everything into the computer for me. I am so lucky.

Hopefully, I will be able to sit out in my backyard and write (my absolute favorite place to avoid the distractions of the world).  However, the weather is finally turning bitter cold after a long, hot, hot summer, so I may have to retreat inside and take to my bed with classical music playing in the background and only my puppies to sit on my lap and help me. I can’t tolerate hearing words or lyrics to songs, as it breaks my train of thought and prevents my characters from talking to me and telling me where they think they should go. Sometimes we argue about it. Sometimes I say no.  But usually we agree that they know best what they are doing. Probably the only time when I allow that the little voices in my head exist.

This year I’m again working on The Chronicles of Acqueria series and should have a new book ready to publish the first of the year. I’ll also be publishing a new edition of the first book, “Blood Moon Treachery” so all my prequels and sequels will match up. Noticed some definite conflicts with hair color and family trees have cropped up, so I will be solving them.

As always, I look forward to NaNoWriMo and NaNoFiMo more than I do Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I’m just strange that way. After all, I am a writer. (That explains a lot.)

As I head into 2020, I hope my new-found momentum gathers speed. I plan on accomplishing a lot this next year. Who knows how many more years I will be able to. I’m getting the feeling I’m definitely pushing the envelope. I surely don’t want to have to stop with so many of my stories untold, so many of my heroes (literary) unsung.

I will be posting daily results on Twitter and Facebook this year – maybe even post a tantalizing excerpt or two. That will be along with my daily Haiku. I can’t give that up. It’s part of my daily routine.

My computer is bearing up well, so I shouldn’t  have any technical problems this year. And I will endeavor to back everything up. I also always print a hard copy of my files, so if anything catastrophic happens, we can always retype it into the computer. Thankfully, that has not happened too often.

I’m resurrecting my “Rhimo” for the month. Got his picture framed and hung.  If nothing else, he will keep me motivated.

This month, in honor of NaNoWriMo, I’m featuring “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery” so my faithful readers can get involved in Sentia’s story before you learn of its origins. It is available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/y96zzp9u.

Also in honor of NaNoWriMo, my featured poetry for October is the second of my two Haiku chapbooks, celebrating the #WritingCommunity: “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku, Volume Two: The Write Life”, now available in print from Amazon at: https://tinyurl.com/ycqtq3mt

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

Tempus Fugit

October 2019 Blog

Boy howdy! Time sure does fly! Okay, three-fourths of the year is gone! Where did it go? The same place the other years of my 75 year-old life have gone. They’re just gone – into oblivion!

Time Passages: A Haiku

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

Life rarely moves on

A schedule of our choosing,

Else it would not end.

Were  time a commodity, I assume it would be the most wasted one of all. It is an unquantifiable resource whose worth is virtually not realized until it has expired.

Procrastination would appear to be the most grievous sin possible against time. It is something I have been guilty of most of my life. My favorite pastime seems to be putting “it” off until tomorrow – or the next day – or the next.

Instead of counting off the things I have accomplished this year, I can list the things I haven’t. (It’s a much longer list.) Even my audible book projects, through no fault of my own, have languished and may not be completed this year.

I’m even thinking that maybe if I throw more irons into the fire, I might accomplish more. (Not that that trick has ever worked.)

Maybe it’s time to take a deep breath and plunge back into my original pool of projects.

So, I have three months to publish “Global Warning”, “The Chronicles of Acqueria: The Early Years”, and whatever else was on that project list that I started and misplaced before I could check anything off of it.

Besides editing the already written (a long time ago) first twenty-eight chapters Of “The Chronicles of Acqueria: The Early Years”, I still have ten more chapters to write to complete the novel. It is a prequel to “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery” and seeks to chronicle the founding of Acqueria and the young lives of the central patriarchal figures in Sentia’a story.

All of the Haiku for “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: Global Warning” have been written. I simply need to gather them in some cohesive order and develop filler material to assure a smooth flow. That will be extremely time consuming, considering it will be the most critical and careful of this most important offering.

As each month passes, we are getting closer and closer to the tipping point – beyond which no matter what we do, it will not change the inevitable. I would like to publish while we still have a chance. Perhaps even sway a few more thinking individuals or ignite a spark in a Climate Emergency advocate who can actually make a difference in the future of the world. (Okay, I can dream, can’t I?)

Also, it would be nice to get this pending stuff done before I can no longer do it.  Like this month’s Haiku says – time is not endless, nor is it finite until it ends.

So, I’ll take a deep breath after I post this month’s blog (been doing a lot of deep breathing lately) and plunge into a publishing frenzy.

Perhaps I can even help save the world. Hey, at my age, I’m entitled to some delusions of grandeur.

This month I’m featuring “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery” so my faithful readers can get involved in Sentia’s story before you learn of its origins. It is available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/y96zzp9u.

My featured poetry for October is the first of my two dark, medieval poetry chapbooks, “The Castleweaver's Tales: A Dozen Glimpses of Medieval Madness: 25th Anniversary Edition” – available from Amazon at: https://tinyurl.com/y9d8czj4  Eldreth insisted.

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

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

Null Effect

August 2019 Blog

This has haunted me for a long, long time.

Null Effect: A Haiku

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

For all the ripples

I have made upon life’s seas,

I but came and went.

Some time (in my Sophomore  year, I believe) in high school I heard my very unhappy Phys-Ed teacher tell us exactly what we all meant in this life: To paraphrase her (hard to remember exactly what she said over 60 years ago): “Put your hand in a bucket of water and take it out. The impression that is left is what your life will mean.”

Now that is a horrible thing to tell impressionable young people, but things like that didn’t seem important back then. (We now know better.) I never forgot.

Apparently neither did Saxon White Kessinger who wrote a marvelous poem called “The Indispensable  Man” that has an upbeat ending. You can Google it. It’s fantastic, but she’s not the originator of the concept. Couldn’t find out who was.

My ending to the concept is far more dystopic and perhaps more realistic. At least it is to me when I’m feeling old and miserable and inconsequential.

I did a lot of busywork in July. None of it has come to much. I’m hoping for a lot of results in August. (One can always hope, or so I’ve heard.)

My contemporary paranormal novel, “The Cottage”, should be an audio book by the end of the month.

“The Seasons of Sam Rock” may join it, if my narrator can get his technical problems solved.

“Global Warning” (a Life’s Lemons and Lemonade Haiku chapbook) should be well on its way to publication.

And “The Chronicles of Acqueria: The Early Years” should be finished.

Perhaps this month will again be a whole lot of shoulda, woulda, coulda, but I hope not. I guess there’s nothing concrete in that sentence. Kind of difficult to make hard, fast, definite promises anymore. It seems that something is always popping up. There always seems to be a wrench ready to drop into the works. There’s always that “other shoe” waiting to drop.

But a writer does what a writer does and writes – occasionally happy, hopeful things. Or, if you’re me (a glass half-empty person who writes horror) you write of  Dystopia  and man’s inhumanity to man and throw in a laugh or two to break the tension.

I guess I should be happy to have that outlet – like a frog who gets to eat what bugs him. (saw that in a cartoon some time ago.) If I didn’t or couldn’t write, I’d be a psychotic mess or even more psychotic than I am. (There’s that levity.)

Gonna cut this short this month. I still have a lot of other things to do on my to-do list. It is month end/month beginning and a lot of things are due (or overdue).

There’s bills to pay and things to decide, things to hide from and things to face, and a whole lot of waffling and fence-sitting to contend with. Everything has consequences and it’s hard to weigh them all before you make a decision (or not). Even with the internet providing so much information these days (some of it to hackers, but that’s another story) it’s hard to know everything. Or, just maybe, there’s too much information and one becomes overwhelmed and stuck in neutral trying to digest it.

Or maybe a diversion will pop up (as diversions often do) and I’ll trail off to follow some shiny object or bunny – there’s a bunny. Gotta follow it.

Before I go hopping off, here are this month’s novel and poetry selections. If you read them or have read them in the past, please leave a review on Amazon. Every “I liked that” helps.  Thank you.

This month I’m featuring “The Cottage” available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/ybobdpuy in honor of its coming audio book.

My featured poetry for August is My 1st Haiku chapbook. It features comments from my cyber friends. “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku, Volume One: One For The Book” is available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/ycnu2kvt 

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’s Author’s page. Feel free to visit me there also:

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