July 2019 Blog
There
is a finality to the closing of a door that opening it again cannot erase.
Simply Idiom: A Haiku
by Ann Wilmer-Lasky
That one door closes
Does not mean another will
Open suddenly.
Yet, I face another door. Or, I face yet another door. Different ways to say basically the same
thing. I stand in front of another door that I feel I simply must open, even though I’ve little time to
explore the doors I’ve already opened.
In order to continue to live this life as best I can
(tenuous as it is), I’ve decided to build upon my literary resume and add “proofreader”
to my list of talents. Writing is a blast, but the books are few and far
between, and the royalties cannot sustain me.
Proofreading on a freelance basis should afford me the
ability to have a night out once in a while and not worry about paying the
piper later.
So I have begun studying the ins and outs of being a
proofreader. It seems I already have the most basic of qualifications – a
rather facile command of the English language.
I guess reading the dictionary way back when was not all
that stupid or strange for people like me. And all those English tests I aced
and the classes I took will serve me well as my prerequisites.
There are many online resources to help anyone along in this
endeavor, including some that cost you an arm and a leg (almost literally) to
learn what you can learn from the all-inclusive, reasonably priced “Copyediting
& Proofreading for Dummies”.
By this time next month, I should actually have some paying
gigs under my belt and be well on my way to solvency. (Well, a girl can dream,
can’t she?) In any case, it’s a good thing I love to read, because I’ll be
doing a lot of it.
On a totally different note, the door has closed on half a
year already. Six months under the bridge and washed out to sea. The most I
have to show for it is that I’m six months older (not much wiser, just older).
I still have my plans, but they are still that – plans.
I am closer to having an audio book released. It will be “The
Cottage”, my only contemporary novel – a paranormal (or not) tale of
ghosts (or not) with lots of blood and casualties (for real).
The audio version of “The Seasons of Sam Rock” is still on
hold. Hopefully, the technical
difficulties will be resolved soon.
I’m still working on “The Chronicles of Acqueria: The Early Years”,
and I’m aiming for it to be published early Fall.
My Haiku chapbook on climate change (Global Warning) is now
becoming more relevant than ever. I’m
still deciding what charity will get a portion of the proceeds: there are so
many good ones out there. If my faithful readers have any ideas, I’d love to
hear them.
I know a lot of the country is having constant rains and
flooding. Here in Roswell, NM we are suffering drought conditions. We no longer
have a lawn and the almost constant winds are blowing the dust-like dirt
everywhere.
Hopefully, the USA will come to its collective senses and
take the reins once again in leading the world to save this Earth we would like
our children and their children to continue to live on in relative comfort.
I suppose that will have to wait until our political turmoil
has settled down. That probably won’t happen for another couple of years.
Hopefully, the “doomsday clock” and/or “tipping point” of no
return will wait for us to get our priorities straight.
While we’re on the subject of opening doors, let’s consider
the totally “open door” no privacy
allowed policy of the internet. Actually, I believe there is no privacy
anywhere anymore.
Lately, on trips to the doctor (in fact, a new doctor), I
have been met with a list of medications and even flu shots from varied venues
and over several years. It would appear everybody feeds everything into a
central source that is accessible to who knows whom.
And since there is virtually no internet security anymore,
we are faced with this new reality: there is, in fact, nothing private anymore. We are all of us public property.
I for one no longer do anything I need to keep private
anymore, so I am not worried. But I am beginning to think that George Orwell
was a genius with precognitive abilities.
“1984” is alive and well. “Big Brother” is everywhere. Even Ray
Bradbury got it right in “Fahrenheit 451” with the interactive
screens and the total control of thought by burning books and controlling
information dissemination.
In protest of all of
the above, I will continue to write and disseminate hopefully thought-provoking
works for the next generations to enjoy.
This month I’m featuring “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood
Moon Treachery” available
from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/y96zzp9u in honor of its
coming prequel : “The Early Years”.
My featured poetry for July (Eldreth insisted on it) is “The
Castleweaver's Tales: A Dozen Glimpses of Medieval Madness, 25th Anniversary
Edition” in
print from Amazon at: https://tinyurl.com/y9d8czj4
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 still 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:
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:
