Rosemarie's Space

The triteness of "counting our blessings"

2011-07-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

Yours truly was given a gift today and she wants the universe to know she's greatly appreciative.

The gift was brunch with four close friends from high school.

Two of these friends are struggling and it hurts her heart. (I can't write the rest of this in third person so it's about to get personal.)

One friend has been nursing family members for quite some time and jokes that she has VIP parking at two local hospitals.

The other friend is in a battle for her life, awaiting news that a vital organ has become available to her for transplant.

We had a few laughs today because amazingly, both of these women still have their senses of humour.

My other two friends have their own challenges. Aging parents who are becoming more needy as they get older. Caring for friends who need a drive, need a hand, just need a friend.

On the drive home I struggled to remain positive and rather than end up in a pool of misery, feeling sorry for my friends, I decided to start counting my blessings, which ended up being an exercise in remembering all sorts of lame adjectives. Here's what I came up with:

I'm blessed with good health. A great partner. Talented children. Amazing grandchildren. Wonderful job. Fabulous co-workers. Safe and gorgeous home. Money in the bank. Good friends. Supportive and loving siblings.

At this point in my one-sided, car ride home conversation, I stopped myself because my list of blessings was sounding trite. Meaningless in the whole scheme of things really. Why? Because in a nano-second, at the drop of a hat, in the blink of an eye, all of that could go away if one of my children was suffering from a life-threatening disease, or if one of my major organs decided it really didn't like being housed in this body any more.

And so there I was, still driving and once again, headed down the hill to that pool of misery. Until I found that one positive blessing that was there all along: my four friends from high school!

Thank you ladies for a wonderful afternoon!

The Weekend Word...for Sunday, June 26th

2011-06-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday on Father's Day I wrote about my dad on my blog. Feelings of inspiration hit me late in the day, around suppertime, so I sat down in front of my laptop (which had spent the day on the patio table), logged on to my blog and typed up my little story. It didn't take me long, maybe ten minutes. Bada-boom, bada-bing. Easy as pie. Writing down what's already in my head is easy.

My paying job requires me to write minutes of meetings. Not so hard. (And yes, a little boring!) Although admittedly some of the more technical aspects of the meetings are harder to write about, I still consider it easy because what I have to write has happened, I've witnessed it, so I write about it. Just like a story about my father.

Writing NEW stuff though is hard. And frustrating.

My first book OPTIONS wasn't as difficult to write as the second one because so much of what came out of the ends of my fingers onto the pages of the book was loosely based on people I knew and actual things I had experienced. The second book ARTIFICIAL INTENTIONS was harder because I didn't have as much past experience with the story so I had to invent characters, do more research into the story-line and explore (in person) the locale.

My third book, still untitled, has been languishing because I'm having some trouble with the right side of my brain. I just can't seem to get the creative juices running when it's time to write ... I know the basic premise of the story, I've written about 27,000 words (which is about one-fifth of a book) but every sentence has been a struggle. I wonder where I could find a boot-camp style of kick-ass creativity jump start? Sigh....

Until next Sunday.

What I learned from my father

2011-06-19T14:21:00.001-07:00

Anyone who knew my dad would agree that he was "larger than life" in more ways than one. One of my first memories of my dad was sitting on the porch of our house on Trafalgar Street in London, Ontario. It was a summer evening. Dad was watering the lawn with the hose and doing his trademark swoop with the stream of water to spray anyone walking by on the city sidewalk. (He was still pulling that stunt 40 years later.) He was whistling a ballad, the name of which I didn't know but I was entranced, watching him. He made whistling look effortless - so I gave it a try. I think the only thing that came out of my mouth was a little bit of spit, but I kept at it. I can still whistle.

Anyone I meet today who knew my dad always remembers his whistling. When we lived on the military base in Baden, Germany, you could hear him whistling several blocks away. If we got separated or lost in a store we only had to stop and listen for the whistling. It was entrancing and magical until the day he died.

It was on that same step that I first used my "low" voice - some people say it reminds them of Linda Blair in The Exorcist - but you heard it here first - I started using that voice when I was five. Dad taught me something silly to say to the people walking by in that silly voice - I think it was "Bob's your uncle!". I still have my "low" voice and use it occasionally to startle my grandchildren!

He had a sense of humour. I'm smiling right now thinking about his laugh which came from deep inside him. He always had something funny to say and he appreciated other people's sense of humour. He was forever asking me to tell and re-tell his favourite jokes.

He was kind. Oh so kind. Just thinking about some of things he did, without be asked, is making me smile. My sister dubbed him the "Food Fairy". When he and mom moved to Ottawa after they retired, my dad would often make dinner, and then deliver it to our house and my sister's place. We'd come home to find dinner with all the fixin's and a loaf of fresh bread laid out on the counter. Need a ride? He would drop everything and be there to pick you up and deliver you to your destination of choice. All of his grandchildren knew that they could always call Poppa Buck to pick them up. Need a dollar? Need a friend? Need a volunteer? Need some advice? Need a big lap to sit on? Need a hug? He gave it all freely with no strings attached.

He loved his family. His brothers and his sisters made him proud. His nieces and nephews were the apple of his eye. But he reserved his special attention for his kids and grandchildren.

His great-grandchildren and some additions to our family (sons-in-laws) never knew him but I see his traits every day in my kids and it makes my heart swell.

If he was alive today, I'd be having him over for dinner and we'd be making a big spaghetti dinner or my husband would be BBQ'ing a huge steak for him. He'd be sitting by the pool, whistling, singing, with a grandchild or two on his lap, holding court, with a Diet Coke close by his side.

He taught me a lot. I learned how to whistle and enjoy Nat King Cole and Eddie Arnold. I learned how to appreciate a good joke. I learned that family is everything. I learned that even if someone passes away their memories are always with you.

Happy Father's Day Dad. We all miss you.

Wedding Diary

2011-05-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

From the mother of the bride's perspective - a Wedding Diary

Day 1 - Wednesday, April 27th

The day started early - I was up before the alarm went off at 3 am. There will be a few bleary-eyed but happy people this morning! Easy check in at the airport in Ottawa and so happy to see everyone. Finally. This day has been a long time coming - months and months of planning and yours truly desperate to put her toes in the hot sand!

Met up with Catalina's mom (Elizabeth) at the Toronto airport as we all dashed to the gate - our flight from Ottawa was almost an hour late because of heavy fog at Pearson airport. Chris managed the first leg of the trip fine - he said he sweated about one pint of beer; so we will keep track of how much he "sweats" (read: nervous) and let him make up his nervousness with several Coronas. Avery is flying for the first time so it'll be interesting to get his take on travelling. Hopefully he's not as jaded as me; although I am in a very Zen place today. My internal chant: what will be will be! This mother of the bride refuses to get rattled!

Arrival in Cancun and transport to the hotel was a breeze. The Barcelo Maya Palace is a beautiful hotel; the artwork and sculptures are breathtaking. Beach, pools and buffets are more than adequate - they are spectacular. I think everyone had a great first day!

Day 2 - Thursday, April 28th

Mother of the bride was up at 530 local time, which is 630 at home. It remained dark until about 7ish. With my dear departed dad's wisdom ringing in my ears ("Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted"), I headed out for a long reconnoitre and got to know the resort. Best kept secret: the adult pool. Spent the afternoon there with MaryAnn! We met with the wedding coordinator (Gabriela) today and finalized the wedding arrangements. Adrian, the bride's make-up artist is practicing his magic on Kate's already beautiful visage and mother of the bride is enjoying the late afternoon sun, on her patio, with a new book. Heard through the grapevine that there are storms in Ottawa - aw.....

Kelvin, Staci & Jordan arrived today. Our guests are almost all here!

Day 3 - Friday, April 29th

Simply a beautiful day. Everyone who wasn't suffering from a sunburn, got one. Yours truly included. I guess that's what you get when you buy inexpensive, no name sunscreen. We discovered today that the Solarcane purchased in Mexico contains Lidacain, which is a topical anaesethetic, and therefore not to be used by pregnant women. Heather was able to use some of our aloe Solarcane instead. Linda and Phil arrived at midday and eventually found us at the adult pool, where we spent the entire day fighting off cheating, lounge and palapa-reserving tourists. Colin and Roxanne witnessed two women almost come to fist-a-cuffs over a lounge chair. I don't understand what part of "no reserving chairs" people don't understand!

Prince William and his new bride, Duchess Catherine of Cambridge were wed in London and word is the paparrazi are on their way to the Mayan Riviera to watch the other Princess Kate wed her Prince Mathew!

Our guests are all here, and tomorrow promises to be a special day.

Day 4 - Saturday, April 30th

There aren't enough adjectives to describe the wedding day so I'll just state the facts. The weather was hot, the sun was beating down but there was a breeze off the ocean. The wedding was held on the beach, overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Guests were seated under the palm trees. The saxophonist played some Latin tunes (Besame Mucho), the officiant was well spoken and the ceremony was solemn but touching and funny. The bride wore a designer gown by Essence of Australia and wore ruby shoes. The groom was outfitted in linen pants and a linen tunic shirt from Island Outfitters. The bride's attendants wore Caribbean colours (sky blue, hot pink and butter yellow) and the groom's attendants were dressed in khaki shorts and sky blue shirts from Old Navy. After the ceremony and lots of pictures, the guests had Mexican hors d'oeuvres and cocktails on the rooftop of the hotel overlooking the ocean. A reception dinner, held in the Tule 3 ballroom, consisted of goat cheese and tomato salad, minestrone soup, beef tenderloin and chocolate cake. Dancing ensued after the dinner to a play-list created by the guests and compiled by the bride's attendant Jordan D'Amico.

Now for some adjectives: beautiful, to describe the bride, her attendants, the guests, and the location. Humble and handsome to describe Mathew and his attendants, Brandon, Shaemus and Aaron (his brothers). Spectacular, to describe the view, the food, the drinks, the music, the guests, the ambiance. Relaxed, to describe the attitude of the bride and groom, and how the whole day rolled out!!

Thanks to Derek for letting us have the wedding on his birthday!

Day 5 - Sunday, May 1st

Breakfast, beach, floating in the ocean, adult pool, floating in the pool, lunch, siesta, shopping at the "plaza" at the next hotel, dinner, bar. What a day!

Day 6 - Monday, May 2nd

Canadian election will be held today - here's hoping for a Conservative majority. Osama Bin Laden is dead. Americans are rejoicing. Yours truly is wondering why the Americans couldn't have killed him and kept their mouths shut about it. The next months will see us on high alert because of potential retaliation.

Roxanne and Colin go home today - sad to see them go but so happy that they were able to come to the wedding and have a holiday.

Linda and Phil also leave today. They were able to pack in the activities - including a trip to Tulum to see the Mayan ruins, windsurfing and sailing a catamaran! Sure was nice to have them here!

Darryl and I swam with the turtles today and saw a small barracuda in the shallow water near shore. Darryl said, "You only have to be faster than the slowest guy in the water," as we all scrambled back to shore.

Most of the wedding guests traipsed into Playa Del Carmen for dinner at Senor Frog's. Balloon hats not suitable for G audiences, conga lines with tequila shots, and souvenir shopping were highlights of the evening!

Day 7 - Tuesday, May 3rd

Conservatives have a majority government and the NDP kicked Liberal and Bloc ass! The bride's father treated her to two designer bags as a wedding gift on our shopping trip into Playa Del Carmen. Sad to be leaving in the morning!

Day 8 - Wednesday, May 4th

Homeward bound! So many new friendships made among the wedding guests; everyone is looking forward to getting together at the official wedding reception on May 21st. Uneventful (thankfully) trip home.

Destination Wedding by the numbers:

Guests: 30

Total shots of tequila imbibed by our guests: 637

Total glasses of Corona enjoyed by our guests: 1,216

Number of guests with sunburns: 26

Photos taken on the wedding day by Catalina: 2,000

Photos taken by everyone else on the wedding day: 4,312 (haha)

Number of guests who want to return to the Barcelo: 30

Life is like a box of chocolates

2011-03-10T14:03:00.000-08:00

Everyone's life includes "first's". Like the first time we walked. Or the first time we went to a movie, or the first time we had a "drink". Things like that. Some of these first's we remember as remarkable and we remember them for the impact they've had on our lives.

In no order of importance, some of the amazing first's in my life include giving birth, getting my first "real" pay-cheque, my first mortgage payment, my first grandchild. Here's a funny one: I remember the first time I went to a meeting that was job-related. That was a big deal. Secretaries didn't "do" meetings back then. My first car. My first date. My first plane ride. You get the idea. And there are the many first's that I won't write about here because they make me blush to think about them (including the first time a boss yelled at me and I deserved it).

Today I had another first. I got my first ever royalty cheque. YAY!

Granted, it's not alot but hey, who cares? You've heard me say that I'm not writing for the money (which is a good thing because I'd be a pauper right now), but it sure felt good to open that envelope from iUniverse.

A famous philosopher once said, "Life is like a box of chocolates" and I truly believe that. Forrest Gump's mama was right: You never know what you're going to get.

Receiving that royalty payment today was a first, and an unexpected one at that.

Thank you to all my readers who have purchased my books!

Meet John Owens - Self-Published Author

2010-10-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that's him on the left. John Owens.

I call him Bubba.

Bubba and I first met in 1985 - holy crap that's more than two lifetimes ago! He and I were both employed at the same company here in Ottawa, working for Rod Bryden back in Rod's high tech days. John was in charge of "communications" and "public relations". I believe he came to the organization from the United Way, and before that he worked as a high school teacher in the Bahamas, where legend says he got that shirt he's wearing in the picture. After working in high tech (when high tech was COOL in Ottawa), he went to work for Rod Bryden at the Ottawa Senators (back when hockey was COOL in Ottawa and the Senators used to win a game or two).

It's all a blur after that because there's a rumour around that Bubba moved to la Belle Province and I lost contact with him for a couple of years. Fast forward to a couple of months ago when a mutual acquaintance asked me if I knew that John was back in town and that he'd written a book. I was on THAT like white on rice.

I thought if John Owens had written a book, that means HE would have a traditional publisher (did I mention he's a fabulous writer) because his writing is amazing. Ah, taberWHIT, and zut alors, it turned out that Bubba was in the same situation as I.....no traditional publisher and he was going the self-publishing route. I was on THAT like Joan Rivers and a free facelift!

John's road to publishing had been similar to mine - frustrating to say the least. But I was glad to find out that having a published author as a friend who is also a famous journalist didn't help either (read about it on John's blog http://www.johnowens.ca/) - LOL! Turns out John decided to try a company I had been looking at as well (iUniverse) and his experience with them had been okay. So, I signed up with them too (read all about it on my blog.....).

Fast forward to last Friday. I arrived home to find Bubba's book ON THE RAILS had arrived from Amazon and on Sunday and Monday I read through all 600 and some odd pages. I found it mesmerizing, I loved the characters, I was fascinated by the time period, and couldn't put it down.

John had agreed with me a while ago that after I read his book, he would do a blog interview with me about ON THE RAILS. So, here it is.....read on:

Question: Your adult working career has included teaching English to high school students, corporate communications/PR work for large public companies and a professional hockey team franchise, and writer. Which of these has given you the most personal satisfaction?

Answer: I don’t want to sound like a friggin’ politician here, but most of the jobs I’ve held have given me a lot of pleasure – but for different reasons. Teaching poor kids in the Bahamas and working for the United Way both made me feel like I was doing something worthwhile. Being with the Ottawa Senators for the team’s first five years was a blast – fairly shitty hockey but a great bunch of people who busted their collective ass to make the franchise work. But, after writing for months in a row – even if I had a terrible day when nothing worked – I would always say to myself: “This is what I should be doing.”

Question: Where did the idea for On The Rails germinate?

Answer: My father was (and still is) a great storyteller. He’s almost 90 now and he lived through much of what Michael experiences – from riding the rails to logging camps, to short order cooking to Northern service with the RCMP. He told those stories with such humour and liveliness that they struck me in a way I hadn’t heard before. I figured there had to be a book in that.

Question: The old adage "write what you know" always comes to my mind when reading an author's first novel. How much of On The Rails is based on your own experiences and your own views/knowledge of Canadian locales? (And yeah, we know you're old but we also know you weren't alive during the Depression and the start of WWII.)

Answer: There are particular events or scenes which I experienced (skating, “borrowing” my father’s truck, the sideshow, working in a catalogue department among many others) and then adapted them to Depression-era Canada. Geographically, I have to confess that I’ve never been to central BC, northern New Brunswick, the Arctic, or Regina. Bless the Internet for images and info.

Question: As a writer, I've found it hard not to imbue my main characters with at least a tiny bit of me. I also get a secret thrill having my characters do or say things that I've always wanted to do or say, but didn't have the guts. Which character in On The Rails is most like you?

Answer: A small part of me is Michael but as a kindred character I’d have to say Dick Williams, the apple farmer in BC. He leads the kind of graceful, self-contained life which I much admire. But there are probably 20 characters who say or do stuff which I somehow believe.

Question: From the time you typed "George Shymchuk's axes were always sharp" to the point where you took your fingers off the keyboard and said, "DONE", how long did it take you to write the book (excluding the yucky parts of editing and proofreading)?

Answer: It’s actually hard to give an accurate answer because, throughout the novel writing period, I also had to make money in my business. There was a pretty intense stretch between 2003 and 2005 where I mainly worked on the book and I did a major revision in 2008 that took about six months.

Question: There is so much in this book that resonated with me (but most of that's fodder for another blog interview). Here's an example: "He felt the guilt of one human who knows he feels less than another about the same thing. He felt the powerlessness to change it within him, the rigid inability to force himself to lift up his caring to the apparent level around him." I actually had a WOW moment when I read those lines, and realized that finally, someone had put into words something I've known for a long time but was unable to articulate. Did you have a WOW moment when you wrote those lines?

Answer: Like you, I’ve guiltily felt that for a long time but I made myself write it to capture Michael’s isolation in everything from severing his family ties to his reaction to war in Europe.

Question: Inarguably, the main plot of On The Rails is male-dominated, and not a lot of women rode the rails during the Depression, but we couldn't ignore the fact that the women's characters in your book are peripheral. This is not a feminist dig in the least, we're just curious if this was a conscious decision on your part or is that just the way the "cookie crumbled", so to speak?

Answer: You’re right: mainly, it was historical circumstance, both on the rails and in the RCMP which is about 80% of the book. For some reason or other, though, I’ve always had a problem with male writers attempting to write from a female perspective (and vice versa!). It always strikes me like a parlour trick. It’s clever and all, but it’s still a trick. Idiotically perhaps, I don’t know why they try it.

Question: You strike me as a beach bum type of guy who likes the warm weather and cold beers. Did you ever experience sledding or wilderness living like Michael and his other RCMP co-horts?

Answer: Again, I think my old man’s story telling abilities made those times and places seem real to me. Personally, I do everything I can to avoid the cold and spend my winters in hibernation, dreaming of Mexico. Coincidentally, however, I did spend a winter in an uninsulated cabin in 2003 when I first really ploughed into On the Rails. It was chilly and remote but absolutely nothing even close to the realities of the Canadian Arctic!

Question: When will be reading The Sixth String? Are you trying to find a traditional publisher for it or are you going the self-publish route again?

Answer: We’ll see. I’m revising some musical things in The Sixth String right now which I had dead wrong so I’m not quite done. I do first want to see if On the Rails will attract some attention and a publisher. But that’s like: I do intend to keep buying lottery tickets.

Question: What's next? Are you writing your next novel?

Answer: Sort of. I’m about 50,000 words into a Central American thing but I haven’t visited it for quite some time. It’s an odd book that might become a real one.

John's book On the Rails is available at http://www.amazon.ca/ or http://www.iuniverse.com/

I'm thissssss close

2010-10-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

The e-proofs for both books have been reviewed by me and sent back to iUniverse. There were very few errors in either books, with the majority being mine, all mine. And yes, you guessed right - I found a whole bunch more of those pesky problems like missing words, spelling mistakes, etc. HUGE SIGH. Hopefully there aren't that many left.

I sent everything back to iUniverse last Friday and Saturday and yesterday I received the cover proofs for Artificial Intentions, with all changes made. By the way, the covers for both books are fantastic. The graphics people at iUniverse took Jordan's artwork and used his lay-out, photos and ideas to the max! So, the credit goes to number one son (again) for the covers!

Tonight I received the revised text for Artificial Intentions, which I checked and sent back with one last minor correction to be made. Now they do the printer's layout and get the book to market. Can't wait, but I guess I'll have to (not sure how much longer it will be).

Still waiting for the proofs for OPTIONS which is being handled by another design team. I'm not as anxious for it because I can't wait to hold my new book in my hands!

iUniverse is doing a great job!

The e-Proofs Have Arrived!

2010-10-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

This week I received electronic proofs for both books. How exciting is this?

The books had been assigned to different design teams and each team has produced a different-looking book. I had thought they may end up looking the same (not the covers but the inside), but they're not. Although both books are virtually the same in word count (~120,000 words), one book is 392 pages and the other is 300 pages. The fonts and font sizes are different in each book, and the pages are laid out differently. I like both (alot!).

The covers are fantastic! Because I had sent them the artwork that Jordan (my son) designed, as well as the photos he had used, their professionals just took the basic design and our photos and re-did the covers. I love them.

The back cover text has me a little perplexed... As part of the editorial process, I was asked to submit the text for the back cover. iUniverse set out a maximum number of words for the text, and gave me an editor's opinion on it. Now I admit, my back cover text sucked. But I did work on it.....so, imagine my surprise when both books showed up with new cover text. They used maybe one of my sentences.....and, I LOVE IT! These people are obviously professionals and they know what's needed on a back cover. I will edit it only a wee bit.

The other treasure was the text for a hard cover book. As you know, hard covers have inside flaps, so to fill up those flaps they put the text from the back cover of the paperback, as well as the author's bio. And, they put an excerpt from the book on the back cover. It's a good thing my bible-thumping Grandmother is not alive because the text on the back cover of the first book has the F word -- tee hee! I will make sure they change that....

So, I'm now doing a deep dive on the books, proofreading and making changes. I'm halfway through Options and am happy to report that I've only found a few changes.

I want to get through this step as quickly as possible becuase I'd like the books available for Christmas.

So.....TTFN (ta ta for now)

The books are "in production"

2010-10-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

This week has seen us take another step towards publication. iUniverse has let me know that both books are now in production. What does that mean? They are designing the covers and laying out the text. They tell me I should have e-proofs in about 2-3 weeks.

Options is slightly ahead of Artificial Intentions in terms of production, and each book has been assigned to a different production team at iUniverse.

I supplied the teams with my cover designs that were done by Jordan (my son) and the accompanying photos that we used. They asked that Kate (my daughter) sign a "Model Release Form" giving permission to use her photo on both covers (although she is not recognizable).

So, things are moving along nicely.

On another note, my friend John Owen's book On the Rails was released last week through iUniverse and I bought a hard copy from Amazon. I can't wait to see it and read it. Hopefully my books will be ready and available well before Christmas so people can buy copies for presents!

I'm one bleary-eyed editor!

2010-09-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Two marathon sessions on the weekend (a total of approximately 26 hours) came to an end around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night....when I finally finished the edit of ARTIFICIAL INTENTIONS, the second book. Hopefully, with a few last swipes, I'll be ready to send it in to iUniverse and get it into production.

Had a note today from iUniverse that the first book OPTIONS, has been assigned to the "London" production team -- so, things are happening. Looking forward to the next phase for both books.

No...more....reading..... for at least a day!

Book #1 in Production

2010-09-14T16:17:00.001-07:00

So, I finally finished editing Options for the three thousandth time the other night and sent it off to iUniverse, telling them I was by-passing any further editorial work. I quickly sent in my revised back cover text and bio with the hope that somewhere in Indiana (I think that's where iUniverse lives), someone is now busily preparing my book.

I love my first book. (The editorial review I got was fair and if I was to compare the review to a mark given by a teacher in school, I probably got a B, however, I'm digressing.) I love my first book, but I have read it at least twenty times (no joke) in the last three months, and every single time I read it I find errors and things to correct. I think I nailed it this time though, and hope that any mistakes left are the type that an average reader won't notice. (Although I must admit I am a SERIOUS snob when it comes to finding errors in professionally published books and I'm finding more and more of them lately.....shame on you Penguin Books and all you other large houses!)

So, sayonara Options (although I believe I get one more go around when iUniverse publishes the proof). It's been fun. It's been fourteen years. Time to send you off....

Let me sign off by saying how sick to death I am of the comma.....

p.s. any mistakes in this post are the sole responsibility of the author (I feel I must add this rider)

My iUniverse experience -- so far

2010-09-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have now received editorial evaluations for both books which were very positive.

The editorial evaluation format from iUniverse is very user-friendly. The editor sends you a multi-page document containing their comments on various topics (the basics; title; marketing text; opening; basic premise and tone; point of view; structure, plot and pace; setting; characterization; dialogue; basic punctuation and grammar; and general comments about the manuscript). The evaluation finishes off with their trade mark "Editorial Rx Referral".

On each topic listed above, the editor has a series of standard questions they answer about the book (yes or needs work), and then they give a narrative answer, citing examples from the book. I found this very valuable. For both books I received lots of constructive comments which I plan on integrating into the manuscripts.

Any complaints? You betcha. And I've shared this with iUniverse. They have a program called "Editor's Choice" where editors at iUniverse identify good, solid books to get their "gold seal of approval". Both of my books were recommended by the editors for this program. However, there's a catch. You have to submit to their recommendations (i.e. have your book copy edited, or have your book line edited, etc.) and pay very big bucks to their organization to have the job done.

Don't get me wrong, I know that copy editing and proofreading are very expensive propositions (see one of my first blog entries). And they are worth every penny. iUniverse's services are not out of line with industry prices for the same type of service and I'm sure their editors are worth the money. I just wish I had several thousand dollars to pay for these services......but self-publishing is costly enough.

So, I'm going to incorporate as many of the changes as I can that were recommended by the editors and get both manuscripts re-submitted asap!

Over and out!

iUniverse....the journey continues......

2010-08-28T09:26:00.000-07:00

Happy to report that I've have had a successful week with iUniverse!

I decided to get OPTIONS submitted first so they can get working on that, so earlier this week I went through the steps on the iUniverse website to get the book in their hands. They have a spot on their website for clients to sign-in and once you have paid your deposit, your personal space is made available to you.

You simply follow the logical steps, putting in information they need about you, blurbs about the book for your back cover, a description of what you want the covers to look like, etc., etc. As I already have artwork for both my books, I plan on sending iUniverse the original photos and the cover and see what they can do, if anything, to improve on it. Not that there's anything wrong with what Jordan has designed but the cover designers at iUniverse may have some ideas.

One of the features I get with the "package" I purchased is an editorial evaluation of the book - which I consider a HUGE bonus. I haven't had any "professionals" look at the book(s) and am looking forward to this stage. I'm told the evaluation will be ready in 2-3 weeks.....in the meantime, I received a generic email from the Editorial Team at iUniverse yesterday, describing the process and what type of reaction I might have to receiving critical advice. Basically, they're telling you that you may not like what you hear...... I say so what? -- that's LIFE. Sometimes it sucks to hear the truth! Although I'll probably be wimpering in a corner when I get the evaluation and when I get my composure back I'll likely be demanding the editor's credentials....HAHAHA!

Today I submitted the second book, ARTIFICIAL INTENTIONS.

So yours truly is happy to report that the first leg of my publishing journey with iUniverse has been relatively painless!

Stay tuned for further reports!

iUniverse and Me

2010-08-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been two months since I finished writing the second book, now titled ARTIFICIAL INTENTIONS. Lots of re-reading and proofreading going on, with able assistance being provided by my team: Roxanne, Deborah and Sheila! Thank you ladies.

To get ready for publication, I contacted my printer in Victoria and got a quote and also contacted several printers here in the Ottawa area -- only one of which had the decency to get back to me and provide a quote! Their loss!!

And then I got an email......which was from iUniverse (I'm on their mailing list) www.iuniverse.com. Normally I delete them but because I was on vacation and in "vacation mode" (read: nothing to do), I actually took a minute and looked at the sales pitch. All publications were being offered half off! Which got me thinking.........

Why not try a different route this time? You see, iUniverse has it all (so they say). They help you format the book, they'll produce the covers, they'll make the book available on their website, and on the websites of such places as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc., etc. They do the printing, the shipping, collect the money, etc., etc.

And.....at 50% off the regular price, I thought, why not give them both of my books? The total cost will be a little bit more than what I would pay to the printer in Victoria to print 100 copies. And if I did the same with the second book as I did with the first book (i.e. print my own), I'd be responsible for advertising, shipping, collecting the money, etc., etc.

So, I'm hoping and crossing my fingers that this has been a good decision. I have a friend who is using iUniverse and he assures me that so far, so good. His book isn't published yet (it takes anywhere from 90 to 120 days to get it out) but he says he's had a good experience so far with them.

For those of you not in the know, so to speak, iUniverse (and many, many other similar companies) are Print On Demand (POD) publishers. Once all the front end "stuff" is done, and consumers want to buy the book, they place an order with iUniverse and iUniverse prints it, ships it and collects the money (and ultimately pays me a royalty).

iUniverse has a great website which takes you (the author) through many steps to getting the book published. Yesterday I managed to get the manuscript for my first book uploaded as well as completing several other tasks. The one problem so far that I've run into is not knowing how to go "back" and update things already submitted or to complete tasks that I skipped. I have an email out to iUniverse and hope to hear back shortly.

Stay tuned here to my blog as I set off on this journay. I'll do my best to keep you up to date on the process.

The Third?

2010-07-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

My husband asked me today if I knew what the next book in the Kate Monahan series was about.

I have no idea, and that's what I told him. The third in the series has been niggling around in the back of my mind, but no ideas have bubbled up. Yet.

I'm in the throes of editing the second in the series and am anxious to get that done so I can send the book to print. My proof-readers and editor are standing-by waiting for the next draft. We still have to finalize a title and a cover too.

Lots to do.........

Summer Reading at Half Price

2010-07-03T05:50:00.000-07:00

Have you read my book yet? If you haven't, here's an opportunity to purchase it at half-price from now until the end of July. If you're looking for a good summer read, this is a book for you.

OPTIONS is the first book in the Kate Monahan Series. Kate is a paralegal/legal secretary at TechniGroup Consulting who deals with the ups and downs of the corporate world. When her close friend dies mysteriously, Kate finds herself in the middle of a series of bizarre coincidences with her own life on the line.

The second book in the Kate Monahan Series will be released later this summer! Stay-tuned to this blog or the author's website http://www.rosemarie-damico.com/ for updates on publishing dates.

In celebration of summer, read OPTIONS for half price!

Click here http://rosemarie-damico.com/purchase.html to purchase a hard copy for $8.50!

Click here https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/2075 to purchase an e-copy for $2.00 (use coupon code SWS50 when purchasing).

I'd love to hear from you -- give me a review of OPTIONS (good, bad or indifferent - I love feedback from readers!). Follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/RoseDAmico and stay-tuned for a new Facebook page.

Happy reading!

Finis! Finito! Finished!

2010-06-27T16:33:00.001-07:00

Note the date folks. Sunday, June 27, 2010. I finished my second book. It's a sequel to the first book -- I'm referring to it as the Second Book in the Kate Monahan Series.

I started this book FOURTEEN years ago. Yep, you read that right. Fourteen years ago. 1996. If you're familiar with the story of how my first book OPTIONS came about (if not see my website www.rosemarie-damico.com) you'll know that I wrote that book in "three months of Sundays". About twelve days of writing. Shortly after finishing that book, I started on the second one. I got about 60 pages in (about ten chapters) and stopped. 1996 was a long time ago and I cannot for life of me remember why I stopped writing at that time. I know there were other things going on in my life at that time (change of jobs, three kids, my husband and I owned our own business, busy, busy, busy). I do remember being very discouraged by all the "No thanks" rejection letters I was getting from publishers and agents for my first book so maybe that contributed to me laying down my pen at that time.

Fast forward to January/February 2009. If you've now read my story about how OPTIONS came about, you'll know that I was about to self-publish the book. I barely remembered the other book but for some reason, I decided to dig it out. That's a story in itself. We had moved houses and I had changed jobs so did I have a paper copy somewhere? Did I have a soft copy on my computer at my current job? I nervously started looking and lo and behold I found it. On my computer at work. It had been sitting on the hard drive for fourteen, lonely years.

Excitedly, I clicked on the file name in Word and lo and behold, the computer told me to enter my password to access the document. I had password protected the document and did I mention that fourteen years is a long time??? I had no idea what the password was. I spent the next two days trying to find software that I could get (cheap) that could break the password. That was two wasted days!

I called my sister in Washington. Did she have a paper copy? She didn't think so but she would ask Dan, my niece's better half who was one of my inspirations for self-publishing the first book -- but you already know that because you're up-to-date on my "story" (see above) LOL. Why Dan would have a copy I wasn't sure, because I do know he wasn't around when I started writing the second book....

While I waited to hear back from my sister/Dan, I called the document back up on my computer screen, and when it asked for a password I typed in a word, and it worked. Duh?! I'm not sure how I remembered it, but I did. I quickly removed the password and read the first 60 pages. And I liked it! I liked it alot.

About a week later I was scheduled to fly to Vancouver (about a five hour flight) and was privileged to be flying Business Class. I took my laptop with me and spent a solid five hours writing in the book in my wide, leather seat, uninterrupted. I was stoked!

I've spent a lot of hours over the last 17 months finishing this book -- way more time than it took to write the first book. My first book clearly fit in the category of "write what you know". This second book is a little of that and a TON of new, undiscovered area. I did a lot of research for this book. Many days I would sit down to write and hit a point in the story where I was asking myself all sorts of questions, so I would change direction and spend hours researching. For this book I found out a lot of information about the Food & Drug Administration in the United States, the Securities & Exchange Commission in the U.S., the New York Police Department.

Last July I took a trip to Manhattan with my son Jordan to scout locations. We had a blast touring around and because of that trip some things changed in the book.

In between writing time, our family has expanded. Our oldest daughter had twins in September so they (along with their older brother) have taken me away from writing for short spells. Is there anything more delicious than spending time with grandchildren? Recently, that same daughter broke her ankle, requiring surgery and many, many weeks on crutches, so we've spent more time with her and the babies. Sometimes my job gets in the way of writing, sometimes the garden calls me. Recently, the swimming pool has been beckoning.....

Today is Sunday, June 27, 2010. 405 pages, 112,155 words, so far untitled. I feel a serene sense of accomplishment.

Stay-tuned for updates on the next steps. Editing with my trustee sidekick, Sheila. Cover artwork photography, modelling, and design with my uber-talented son, Jordan. And my 'you-know-who' model.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Read an E-Book Week - WOW What a Success!

2010-03-14T04:56:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who took advantage of Read an E-Book Week to download a free copy of my book Options. 55 of you took the time to go to http://www.smashwords.com/ and download the book. Some of you even stopped by here first and read my blog entry before going to smashwords.

I took advantage of my 100+ friends on Facebook and reminded them everyday this past week that it was Read an E-Book Week and gave them a link to my blog to get a free copy.

It's hard slogging to get the word out about a self-published book and this week has definitely paid off. There are now 55 more copies of my book out there and hopefully some of those readers will post a review of the book on smashwords, or send me an email with their comments (rosemarie@rosemarie-damico.com). All comments, good, bad or indifferent are welcomed.

My book also showed up this week on http://www.kobo.com/, which is the website for Chapters/Indigo that sells electronic books. So, the word is spreading and thanks to people like Mark Coker (founder of Smashwords), self-published authors are actually getting a toe-hold (albeit tiny) in the publishing world. Now if I could only convince Heather Reisman to put my hard copy book on the shelves at Chapters!

Free E-Books

2010-03-06T05:19:00.000-08:00

Have you have tried reading e-books on an e-reader (Sony, Kindle, i-Phone, etc.) or on your computer? I have and I LOVE it!

I hear a collective gasp out there and about a year ago, I would have sucked in my breath too at the thought of someone my age accepting the new technology. But it was Mark Coker, the founder of Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/) who was the reason I self-published my book Options (http://www.rosemarie-damico.com/) in the first place.

You see, it is now easy to publish your own book, and a big piece of doing that is having your book in an electronic format (.doc, .pdf, etc.). I think the only people in the world not to 'write' their books on computers would be the Amish, so you know what I mean when I say having your book in electronic format is the first step. Once it's written in Word or WordPerfect or whatever, it's easy to convert it to a format that allows readers to read your book on their e-reader of choice. My son-in-law does all his reading on his i-Phone, which has a screen far too small for me to enjoy but the generation behind me are using smaller and smaller devices for their reading. Imagine reading a book on a cell phone? I don't think so!

Smashwords published my book on their website as soon as I gave it to them in Word format. They converted it to several various e-formats and it is available for sale on their website. They have since signed agreements with Barnes & Noble, Sony, Amazon, Kobo and a few others to sell our books through those websites too.

In January this year I made the big step and purchased an e-reader for myself. After much research I chose the Sony e-Reader and I am VERY happy with it. I still read paper books and will never give those up. It only makes good business sense as far as I'm concerned, being an "electronically published" author as well as a "paper published" author, if you know what I mean. I can store up to 3,500 books on my e-reader and that makes travelling a heck of a lot lighter. Now my suitcase/briefcase isn't loaded with books when I travel -- I just have to throw my e-reader in my purse!

e-books are generally less expensive than print books. AND, imagine how happy I was to find out that my local library has e-books which I can borrow for 20 days (plus two renewals). Fantastic! So, don't knock it until you've tried it. Log on to your local library's website, search for the e-books, and download a couple to your computer (the library will likely advise you to download some free Adobe software first). Try reading a book on your computer.

Go to http://www.smashwords.com/ where my book and several hundred more are FREE starting March 7th (until March 13th). Smashwords are participating in a global event -- "Read an e-book Week".

To view my book and download a free copy starting on March 7th, go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/2075

If you find that e-books aren't your cup of tea, I would be glad to sell you a paper copy of my book. Just go to http://www.rosemarie-damico.com/ -- I will even autograph your copy!

Happy reading!

In the category of "every little bit counts".....

2010-01-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

.....831 words produced tonight. Not a ton, but yours truly is proud of herself for doing some writing on an weeknight when I'm usually brainbusted!

January 6, 2010: 831 words!

Another Fruitful Day

2010-01-03T14:42:00.001-08:00

Another banner day.

I was lucky to have a visit this morning from my grandchildren so I didn't get down to the writing until about 1:00 p.m. It's now 5:45 p.m. and I'm calling it a day. Two chapters completed! Yay me!

January 3, 2010: 3,111 words

The Final Leg of the Race

2010-01-02T16:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's the New Year and time for resolve and determination. I have about two-thirds of my second book done and haven't made the time in since the end of September to get back at it.

Today, January 2nd I cleared the decks and spent the WHOLE day writing. What a giddy feeling......writing excites me so much! The day is almost done and I'm happy to report that I've written almost 5,000 words today. Which means if I'm aiming for a 125,000 word novel, I have about 8.5 days of writing 5,000 per day left to finish the book.

Now I'm not kidding myself to think that I might be lucky enough to clear the decks for eight and half days of straight writing or that I can write 5,000 in each sitting but .... there does appear to be an end in sight. Yeah!

I will keep this blog up to date to keep us all informed of progress.

January 2, 2010: 4,387 words

Where Have I Been These Last Three Months?

2009-12-11T03:13:00.000-08:00

My loyal fans and blog followers (all two of them) must be wondering where the heck has she been these last three months? Well, I've been around, just not here on the blog.

Some amazing things have been happening: had an 'author's signing event', sold a ton of books (by my standards), had my book Options put up on the Barnes and Noble website, added another 10,000 words to the second book, but have been mostly blissfully enjoying my two new grandchildren.

Chloe Ann and Thomas George were born on September 27th. They are wonderful, mellow, happy babies. Jonathan, their big brother, and the wee man who I fell in love with over three years ago, is very accepting of the new babies and is happily ensconced in his new pre-school. New babies make it hard to concentrate on much else so the book writing hasn't been progressing as well as I had hoped. Several weekends when yours truly should have been pounding the keyboard have been spent babysitting the grandkids to give their parents some well deserved rest! January is just around the corner and new year's resolve will kick in and I'm sure I'll be back on track.

In November, as a fundraising event at my place of employment, I was asked to participate in an author's signing event with a fellow self-published author, Deborah Cholette. About a year ago in our company newsletter I read an article about Deborah and her journey of self-publishing. That story, along with a newspaper article about a month later about Mark Coker and his new company Smashwords were really the two events that sent me down the road to where I am today with my first book Options. Deborah is a wonderful woman who I have seen over the last many years at the office, nodding hello on the elevator but never getting to know her. When I decided to self-publish, she was very helpful with information. She has two books to her credit: a children's book and a romantic comedy.

I was a little apprehensive before the signing event because I had never participated in one. Deborah and I had agreed to donate all profits from our sales to the charity and between the two of us we raised almost 700 dollars! I sold almost 70 books. Unbelievable! And I'm getting lots of great feedback.

My book has now appeared in electronic format at Barnes and Noble thanks to Mark Coker at Smashwords. Mark has been working very hard for all of his authors .... next up we should be at Amazon and a few other on-line stores. When I saw my book on the Barnes and Noble website http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=EBOOK&WRD=rosemarie+d%27amico+options I admit I squealed just a wee bit!

The Christmas season is upon us and for me this time of year makes my heart swell (really...) and race (really...) in anticipation of seeing my family from out of town, enjoying some social time with our friends, and waiting for Santa to arrive! As I said above, January will soon be here and for me the new year is always a time to suck in a deep breath, slap myself mentally a few times, and get at it! So watch out 2010, my new book will be published before the spring and I see some amazing things on the horizon for Options!

Merry Christmas!

Options - second edition has gone to print

2009-09-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

Today I shipped (electronically) my book Options to First Choice Books in Victoria, British Columbia for a second printing.

Had a cheery email from Johanna at First Choice -- kind of a "congratulations" email -- she assumes I am printing a second edition because I have no copies left of the first printing. I wish that were true.....sigh.

Truth be told, the second edition is being printed because of the number of mistakes found by a reader (see my blog entry about that!) in the first edition. Shortly after my self-flagellation phase (which lasted a day or two), I sucked it up and made the dozens (and dozens) of changes/revisions. And then I re-read the book, again, and found a few more errors. And, I'm sure there are still several boo-boos, typos, extra words, words in the wrong place, etc., etc., which will remain, until a publishing house buys the book and does some copy-editing themselves.

I had a comment on my blog from a copy-editor (thank you!) who said that authors often don't see their mistakes because of what they "expect" to see/read. How true.

Glad the changes have been made -- it took up a precious day this past weekend -- a day which I would have preferred to have been writing in my second book. But hey! What's a little set-back? This is all for fun and I'm not curing cancer, as I tell everyone who gets down on themselves (lucky for me I don't know any depressed medical researchers....).

And who knows -- the first edition may well end up being a collector's item one day!

Discovering the Value of a Copy Editor

2009-08-31T16:59:00.000-07:00

I'm embarrassed, mortified, humbled and generally red in the face. Over the past while, several of my readers have gently let me know that they had seen a few mistakes/typos in my book. I say "gently" let me know because I have had to really drag that news out of them. A couple have said that they didn't want to embarrass me by telling me..... Au contraire, I've told them, I NEED TO KNOW.

You see, I have always prided myself on my error-free, completely proofread, clean as a whistle, documentation. (My background in the legal profession taught me the hard way about mistakes in documents.) I have always considered myself a proofreader extraordinaire.

Until today. My good friend and sister-in-law is one of my readers who mentioned that she had found a few errors. I asked her to point them out to me yesterday when she was visiting and she said that it would take too much time as there were quite a few. I think I mentally passed out when I thought I heard her say there were about 60. The power of denial......until today. She dropped the book off with her "gentle" notations in the margin. There were more than 60 notations. YIKES.

Thank you my friend. I corrected 55 mistakes which consisted of: typos, words missing, words in the wrong order, misspelled words, etc., etc. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Humbled I am because until today I was quite a snob when it came to reading other's books. In fact, there have been times that I've been so disgusted to find a mistake in someone's book that I have trouble continuing to read it.

Smashwords, the electronic publisher of my book (http://www.smashwords.com/) sent out an email a few nights ago letting all of its authors know that they have inked a deal with Barnes & Noble to have our books sold through their website. Imagine how excited I am. There are a few provisos though, one of which is that our books have to "pass muster" to be listed at Barnes & Noble. Right away I decided I needed to clean up the book because as I mentioned above, a few people said they had found some mistakes. I immediately started reading/proofreading the book again (for about the tenth time, seriously). And then I got the mark up from my friend and realized I am a TERRIBLE proofreader of my own work. Because although I had just read the first 110 pages, I had missed over ten mistakes!

So, what's the value of a good copy editor? I'm not sure how much they charge, but believe me, I will be seeking out and hiring one for my next book (and maybe for this one as well, before I do another print run).