Wow! Things have been busy at Tank and Ferry Entertainment headquarters these latest so many weeks... May and June have just flown! There has been a flurry of features and appearances by HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels in magazines, online and even on the radio. From a meaningful review to puzzle prizes, giveaways and a bit of chit chat. Facebook activity aplenty. All good fun.
I hope all those people who have been successful in the prize packs and giveaways are enjoying their copy of HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels. It would make my day and week to hear from you!! To have a reader share their thoughts and feelings is... well, it's like I'm making a phone call, if the phone rings and rings and no one picks up, we are definitely not having a conversation, at the very least a one way conversation; when you tell me what you think or feel about HEARTLAND and about the ideas in the novel, then you've picked up the phone and a conversation begins about the wondrous connection between you and the world you've discovered on the pages of HEARTLAND.
If it sounds as if I work like a hermit, mostly devoid of human contact, well, sometimes it's a bit like that. The nature of the job. Here is the link to Rama Gaind's review in PS News online in case you missed it...
http://www.psnews.com.au/Bookreviewpsn2703.html
I ventured into the world of Facebook advertising in June. Tank and Ferry Entertainment are currently running two campaigns, one in Australia and one in the US. If you have 'liked' historical fiction on your Facebook page then you might see my ad for HEARTLAND pop up. When someone clicks on the ad, they land on my website, the Heartland page to be precise, to have a read and a browse and then hopefully head to the Buy Now page. I can't tempt anyone in Australia to 'click' regrettably, but in the US quite a few are clicking. I will know soon whether or not those clicks have translated into sales on Amazon.com. Facebook seems like another world really - the world on the other side of a click or a like. It can really dominate your day sometimes. Tension builds... is anyone out there interested in my work, in me? And then there is that moment of surprise and delight you when you discover there is. Definitely, the highs and lows.
To all those lovely people who have liked my page, molto molto grazie.
Liking someone in turn is also so much fun. And as important to them as their liking you is to you. Give and take all the way.
I had the most amazing experience at North Shore Community Radio several weeks ago. My first radio interview ever. How terrifying is that! Well, for the hermit that I am, it was for me. I was hoping for some ground-swallowing action. Until the wonderful and gorgeous Deborah Evans began to interview me. It wasn't long before I was at home and at ease and chatting away to her about HEARTLAND and about self-publishing. What a great experience, a reaffirming one. I am hoping to have it here on my blog and on Facebook very soon. There were two copies of HEARTLAND given away that morning - I hope the winners are enjoying the book!
Speaking of books, at present I'm reading Lindsay Tanner's 'Sideshow - dumbing down democracy', as well as Lucinda Holdforth's 'Why Manners Matter - The Case for Civilised Behaviour in a Barbarous World'. Loving them both. So interesting and relevant. I bought 'Sideshow' when Tank and I ventured into the Sydney Writer's Festival and packed in for the session called 'Is democracy a dirty word?' Fantastic stuff. And right up my alley of interest. Gosh, it was good, just wished it was longer and there was more time for lots more questions from the floor, including mine!
Speaking of books a bit more, the countdown is on though for the release of the second volume in The Liberty & Property Legends. The manuscript is having its final read (not by me) before heading off to Vivid Publishing for the proof stage.
By the way, if anyone out there is interested in baking, look out for something I'm planning that I think will be pretty special when my new website is launched in September to coincide with the release of the second volume in the Legends series. I'm very excited about it. More about that later.
Happy reading. Happy clicking.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
e-Book!
Exciting new development: HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels is now an e-book!
It is available on Amazon.com for your Kindle. And it will gradually come onto other platforms as well.
You can now check out http://www.femail.com.au/ online mag which features HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels, as well as my interview with Brooke Hunter; and enter their competition for a chance to win a copy of the book.
It is available on Amazon.com for your Kindle. And it will gradually come onto other platforms as well.
You can now check out http://www.femail.com.au/ online mag which features HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels, as well as my interview with Brooke Hunter; and enter their competition for a chance to win a copy of the book.
Monday, April 4, 2011
indie_authors_rock.com
I was reading today a website for independent authors and one particular blog caught my attention in that the author had suffered two hundred rejections from publishers for her book. She realised the only way she was ever going to be published was to self-publish. This she did. Her book went on to win rave reviews and an award and set her on her way. It goes to show how valuable independent authors are to the literary world. Whether it's fiction or non-fiction, they are prepared to take risks and deliver to the reading public creative and professional work that mainstream publishers refuse to take on for any number of reasons. This requires a great deal of self-belief and a huge workload beyond the writing itself. And the need to seek out a group of professional people to help. And it is all financed by the independent author. This really is true dedication.
As we move beyond traditional bookselling to online bookstores and e-books, as technology changes the way we create and communicate all the ideas the human imagination can produce, it is becoming clear that writers with skill and determination and self-belief are prepared to become paradigm shifters and carve out their own place in the literary world.
I am so pleased and grateful to be working with the wonderful professional people that have helped me create and market HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels, and who hopefully will be there as the rest of The Liberty & Property Legends series rolls out.
As we move beyond traditional bookselling to online bookstores and e-books, as technology changes the way we create and communicate all the ideas the human imagination can produce, it is becoming clear that writers with skill and determination and self-belief are prepared to become paradigm shifters and carve out their own place in the literary world.
I am so pleased and grateful to be working with the wonderful professional people that have helped me create and market HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels, and who hopefully will be there as the rest of The Liberty & Property Legends series rolls out.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Heartened
I'm loving the quite recent addition of Facebook to my website. Readers can go to Terri Sedmak - The Liberty & Property Legends facebook page and have their say. But my attention to the fun stuff of facebook has had to take a back seat to the flurry of activity surrounding the most recent exciting development in the L & P L project - the upcoming release and launch in April of HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels, 2nd Edition.
This edition is different than the first in that this one comes with a new publisher, Vivid Publishing (who look after independent authors such as myself for publishing house Fontaine Press), and a media and publicity campaign with the divine Ms JaKe! A lot of experience and professional know-how comes with this combination.
Response to HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels in its first and localised run has been nothing less than decidedly heartening (pardon the pun) and quite frankly life-changing. Tank calls our 1st Edition the dress rehearsal. And I think it's a very apt description. It means a lot to both of us, but for me I have found so much more confidence in myself as an author and can't wait to bring the whole series to life. The second book in the saga is planned for release later this year, but to prepare properly for the launch of it, we decided to give HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels its fair share of time in the sun.
So, it's all happening. Volume One of The Liberty & Property Legends is in expert hands. If you've been waiting for the second book in the saga, my apologies for the delay, but I assure you it will be worth it. The look of the 2nd edition HEARTLAND will be just a little different, although same cover image and title, but my hope is that the whole series will look and feel just as I've always imagined it would, and now that our dress rehearsal has ironed out our rough patches, we're good to go for opening night.
This edition is different than the first in that this one comes with a new publisher, Vivid Publishing (who look after independent authors such as myself for publishing house Fontaine Press), and a media and publicity campaign with the divine Ms JaKe! A lot of experience and professional know-how comes with this combination.
Response to HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels in its first and localised run has been nothing less than decidedly heartening (pardon the pun) and quite frankly life-changing. Tank calls our 1st Edition the dress rehearsal. And I think it's a very apt description. It means a lot to both of us, but for me I have found so much more confidence in myself as an author and can't wait to bring the whole series to life. The second book in the saga is planned for release later this year, but to prepare properly for the launch of it, we decided to give HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels its fair share of time in the sun.
So, it's all happening. Volume One of The Liberty & Property Legends is in expert hands. If you've been waiting for the second book in the saga, my apologies for the delay, but I assure you it will be worth it. The look of the 2nd edition HEARTLAND will be just a little different, although same cover image and title, but my hope is that the whole series will look and feel just as I've always imagined it would, and now that our dress rehearsal has ironed out our rough patches, we're good to go for opening night.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Attic-stuffer
Is anyone else having trouble putting away their Christmas decorations? I've finally made a start (I'm so late), but it kind of makes me melancholy. Christmas came around so fast and now its gone again. The trouble is that each piece has some fact or fun or story attached to it and I'm not sure I'm ready to put it back in its box. Christmas is one of those times where you have to hang onto the past (traditions), while simultaneously letting go of it (New Year). We look forward, we look back. It's a happy time and a sad time. It's the most wonderful time of the year (as the song goes) and the most formidable.
Every year I contemplate putting out fewer decorations, tone things down (slowly, so the kids don't notice). Sometimes a few things stay in the attic. But the next year I declare I'm going all out for Christmas this year, and everything comes down out of the attic... ah, it's fun. Putting them away seems so far away, and not really important in the moment of Christmas deco fever.
But when reality dawns on the twelth day of Christmas, so does something else... I think I need the hanging on to launch me into the letting go and land me in the new.
It's time to put away and move on.
Perhaps it's time I investigated going away for Christmas... give the attic steps a holiday.
I say that every year.
Every year I contemplate putting out fewer decorations, tone things down (slowly, so the kids don't notice). Sometimes a few things stay in the attic. But the next year I declare I'm going all out for Christmas this year, and everything comes down out of the attic... ah, it's fun. Putting them away seems so far away, and not really important in the moment of Christmas deco fever.
But when reality dawns on the twelth day of Christmas, so does something else... I think I need the hanging on to launch me into the letting go and land me in the new.
It's time to put away and move on.
Perhaps it's time I investigated going away for Christmas... give the attic steps a holiday.
I say that every year.
Monday, January 3, 2011
2011
I think the palindromes have potential... as in dates for example:
02-11-20
11-11-11
02-22-20
but 2011 as a year looks strange to me. Twenty eleven... I don't know why people keep saying two thousand and whatever (now eleven). We never said nineteen hundred and anything... did we?
But I am hoping for lots of great things.
The potential for 2011 as a year of great things is as good if not better than the potential of the palidromes to be a curious fascination as they crop up during the year.
What is she talking about, you ask. Ask away. I'll just keep talking.
The most exciting thing about New Year's to me is waiting and watching for all the time zones around the world to hit midnight and comparing all the fireworks in various global cities, and the lack of them in Times Square NYC, where confetti is the cherished norm.
I have to say experiencing fireworks on Sydney Harbour - and I mean on it, on the water in a boat - is something to savour for a lifetime. So, that happened to Tank, Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy, and me. There are no words to describe the eye-popping, bone-shuddering, heart-swelling gorgeousness of it. Quite a stunning way to start that odd-looking 2011.
I am aware that quite a number of people experience this every year, on the water beneath the coloured sky, but me and Tank are not in that number, so we were suitably blown away.
Making resolutions and the thought of keeping them is like so much hard work, well not the kind of work I like anyway. So don't expect any declarations here.
We humans are an optimistic lot, to keep up the fireworks year after year no matter what the human condition has suffered for the past twelve months and is likely to suffer in the next twelve.
Get a grip. It's all about being grateful for what we have; auld lang syne; and wanting to be better people. If you say so.
Notice that every year NYE has to be better than the last? We are never satisfied, and while I applaud and enjoy the clever advances in technology by those clever firework techos, it does say something about us... we are never satisfied. If we were truly happy people, would we need ever more exciting fireworks? If we had solved all the pressing issues of poverty, sickness, war, climate change and need, wouldn't that be something to shoot rockets into the sky for?
We distract ourselves for a few minutes; give ourselves a sense of optimism for a few minutes which sparkles and sizzles in the night sky with so much promise and then falls away; the reality of the night sky returns.
Nope. I'm not very good at the New Year period. It all looks a little blue to me. I know... I can hear you saying that's why the fireworks are so multi-coloured. Start the year with a bang and a head full of rainbow colours, and your eyes looking up at the stars and head for them. Point taken.
02-11-20
11-11-11
02-22-20
but 2011 as a year looks strange to me. Twenty eleven... I don't know why people keep saying two thousand and whatever (now eleven). We never said nineteen hundred and anything... did we?
But I am hoping for lots of great things.
The potential for 2011 as a year of great things is as good if not better than the potential of the palidromes to be a curious fascination as they crop up during the year.
What is she talking about, you ask. Ask away. I'll just keep talking.
The most exciting thing about New Year's to me is waiting and watching for all the time zones around the world to hit midnight and comparing all the fireworks in various global cities, and the lack of them in Times Square NYC, where confetti is the cherished norm.
I have to say experiencing fireworks on Sydney Harbour - and I mean on it, on the water in a boat - is something to savour for a lifetime. So, that happened to Tank, Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy, and me. There are no words to describe the eye-popping, bone-shuddering, heart-swelling gorgeousness of it. Quite a stunning way to start that odd-looking 2011.
I am aware that quite a number of people experience this every year, on the water beneath the coloured sky, but me and Tank are not in that number, so we were suitably blown away.
Making resolutions and the thought of keeping them is like so much hard work, well not the kind of work I like anyway. So don't expect any declarations here.
We humans are an optimistic lot, to keep up the fireworks year after year no matter what the human condition has suffered for the past twelve months and is likely to suffer in the next twelve.
Get a grip. It's all about being grateful for what we have; auld lang syne; and wanting to be better people. If you say so.
Notice that every year NYE has to be better than the last? We are never satisfied, and while I applaud and enjoy the clever advances in technology by those clever firework techos, it does say something about us... we are never satisfied. If we were truly happy people, would we need ever more exciting fireworks? If we had solved all the pressing issues of poverty, sickness, war, climate change and need, wouldn't that be something to shoot rockets into the sky for?
We distract ourselves for a few minutes; give ourselves a sense of optimism for a few minutes which sparkles and sizzles in the night sky with so much promise and then falls away; the reality of the night sky returns.
Nope. I'm not very good at the New Year period. It all looks a little blue to me. I know... I can hear you saying that's why the fireworks are so multi-coloured. Start the year with a bang and a head full of rainbow colours, and your eyes looking up at the stars and head for them. Point taken.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Tulips
Our cutie black moodle has just turned four years old.
My gorgeous proofreader, Anastasia, is twenty three today... happy birthday!
L & PL Volume 2 is in the production phase. The most stressful, I think.
I bought some interesting herbal tea on the weekend that should improve all sorts of parts of me that really could use some improving.
Also on the weekend we took a stroll through Floriade in the nation's capital; so uplifting... so many beautiful tulips, one of my two most favourite flowers! I can never decide on a favourite colour and Floriade has every shade and variety of tulip imaginable. The pointy petal iconic variety; ones with ruffles; colour variegated with white; yellow, of course, every shade of pink, and red!! Also wine, crimson, orange (gorgeous)... impossible to name them all.
The peony is my other most favourite flower. Old fashioned white roses come in next.
So, now I'm sipping my favourite coffee and planning updates and additions to my website for when Volume 2 is published. Nice, though, to take a moment to dwell on those exquisite tulips.
Back to work!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Catch-up
Sunday morning. It's lovely and quiet. Morning is my best time to write. My brain is clear. So those first few hours of the day are crucial to those words on the white page. When I'm in the groove, though, often the time of day isn't so important. But when I need a better word, the right words, or I'm in a tricky patch, I can always say I'll deal with that in the morning, and on the whole the morning won't let me down.
Currently, I have two very helpful assistants reading my manuscript, finding typos and generally giving some feedback. Reader number 1, the young lady who is a prolific reader of fiction, is loving the story, the character development and the romance; reader number 2, the gentleman who predominantly reads non-fiction, is exited about the pace and the action, the tone and the feel, the new characters, and reading more about his favourite character from HEARTLAND, Jennifer. So far so good. So for those readers who are looking forward to Volume 2 of the Legends I hope you will be pleased.
It's interesting writing a second novel (and a sequel to boot). There are readers who love HEARTLAND and it's kind of nerve-wracking hoping that the new novel will not disappoint. My assistants say emphatically that I don't need to be worried. So it's full steam ahead!
Now that the novel is at this stage I have forced myself to take a step back from it for a few days to do other important work on the project. This also leaves me time to write a blog. I find writing a novel incredibly consuming. All parts of the brain that deal with writing words go to it and not much else, except for the shopping list.
So now that it's a lovely Sunday morning, everyone else is asleep, the sun is shining through my windows, Volume 2 is in a good place, I can write this. I don't think I've said all that much but it's always good to catch up with people, especially the ones you appreciate for their support and interest. Readers!
Currently, I have two very helpful assistants reading my manuscript, finding typos and generally giving some feedback. Reader number 1, the young lady who is a prolific reader of fiction, is loving the story, the character development and the romance; reader number 2, the gentleman who predominantly reads non-fiction, is exited about the pace and the action, the tone and the feel, the new characters, and reading more about his favourite character from HEARTLAND, Jennifer. So far so good. So for those readers who are looking forward to Volume 2 of the Legends I hope you will be pleased.
It's interesting writing a second novel (and a sequel to boot). There are readers who love HEARTLAND and it's kind of nerve-wracking hoping that the new novel will not disappoint. My assistants say emphatically that I don't need to be worried. So it's full steam ahead!
Now that the novel is at this stage I have forced myself to take a step back from it for a few days to do other important work on the project. This also leaves me time to write a blog. I find writing a novel incredibly consuming. All parts of the brain that deal with writing words go to it and not much else, except for the shopping list.
So now that it's a lovely Sunday morning, everyone else is asleep, the sun is shining through my windows, Volume 2 is in a good place, I can write this. I don't think I've said all that much but it's always good to catch up with people, especially the ones you appreciate for their support and interest. Readers!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Jindabyne
We were fortunate to spend this past weekend in Jindabyne in the heart of the Snowy Mountains. At this time of the year there is a sense of waiting... in just another few weeks the official snow season begins. In the meantime the area is so delightfully uncrowded, the weather so bracingly crisp and the scenery so picturesque you can't help but love it. The town's stunning centrepiece, Lake Jindabyne, goes from misty-broody grey in the early morning to spanking-bright blue by the afternoon. The residual gold leaves on the trees love to show off against the blue backdrop! When the sun finally burns off the mist, this historic town of outdated chalets really sparkles.
What we love about weekends such as this is discovery. There is always somewhere you feel sure you must have been and then realise you haven't. For us it was Guthega Village. We drove up the Kosciuszko Rd and turned off onto Guthega Rd. The Main Range begins to make its presence felt, with huge moutainsides of bowed snow gums like great waves about to wash over you (my husband described it as such and I have permission to use it) and Alpine pastures you can't wait to hike. The nicest part was that we met Nick Kennedy up there in his cosy Guthega Alpine Inn overlooking Guthega Dam and sipped good coffee and chatted to Nick, while the great peaks of Mt Kosciuszko and Mt Twynam, a little spotty with snow, beckoned to us across the way from out the window. Now this is charm at its most irresistable. We are so going back.
Back in Jindabyne, where it was two degrees and frost covered the ground and the rooftops, we needed a hearty breakfast and coffee. We found Jo and Andrew at Burger It. They are so friendly and welcoming. And Andrew cooks up great bacon and eggs with a side of buttered mushies, grilled tomato and sausages. When his little daughters skipped into the shop saying, 'Hello, Daddy!' I was kind of sold right then even without the fresh free range eggs and bacon. Being the daughter of a shopkeeper myself I kind of related. Jo and Andrew run a family business. So if you rock up to Lakeview Plaza, Snowy River Avenue on a cold morning looking for something to get you fuelled up for the day, they will look after you for sure. A visit to Jindabyne now wouldn't the same without brekkie at Jo and Andrew's place.
Now that I've waxed lyrical about our weekend in Jindabye, it's back to Liberty & Property volume two. I'm all charged up and ready to write!
What we love about weekends such as this is discovery. There is always somewhere you feel sure you must have been and then realise you haven't. For us it was Guthega Village. We drove up the Kosciuszko Rd and turned off onto Guthega Rd. The Main Range begins to make its presence felt, with huge moutainsides of bowed snow gums like great waves about to wash over you (my husband described it as such and I have permission to use it) and Alpine pastures you can't wait to hike. The nicest part was that we met Nick Kennedy up there in his cosy Guthega Alpine Inn overlooking Guthega Dam and sipped good coffee and chatted to Nick, while the great peaks of Mt Kosciuszko and Mt Twynam, a little spotty with snow, beckoned to us across the way from out the window. Now this is charm at its most irresistable. We are so going back.
Back in Jindabyne, where it was two degrees and frost covered the ground and the rooftops, we needed a hearty breakfast and coffee. We found Jo and Andrew at Burger It. They are so friendly and welcoming. And Andrew cooks up great bacon and eggs with a side of buttered mushies, grilled tomato and sausages. When his little daughters skipped into the shop saying, 'Hello, Daddy!' I was kind of sold right then even without the fresh free range eggs and bacon. Being the daughter of a shopkeeper myself I kind of related. Jo and Andrew run a family business. So if you rock up to Lakeview Plaza, Snowy River Avenue on a cold morning looking for something to get you fuelled up for the day, they will look after you for sure. A visit to Jindabyne now wouldn't the same without brekkie at Jo and Andrew's place.
Now that I've waxed lyrical about our weekend in Jindabye, it's back to Liberty & Property volume two. I'm all charged up and ready to write!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Save
A few weeks ago I was writing a post about the America trip and got about a third of the way along and my computer did that thing it does where it decides to delete everything except the first two lines. The auto save had only saved those first two lines. No matter what I tried, I'd lost it. I couldn't get it back. I was devastated. I was in the middle of explaining how when you go to look for America there are so many ways of finding her... but what about Luke's America of 125 years ago? Where is she? How do you find her?
The whole episode has got me to thinking how strongly we feel about having that save button in our lives. Right now I'm saving after every sentence... We in the 21st century are quite obsessed with saving. Saving our planet for one. Seems to me we have emerged from the Industrial Revolution with some serious regrets about what our achievements have done to our world. In the name of progress we have lost a lot and obliterated much along the way.
And we think in terms of what the future human race will think of us if we don't do some serious saving now. How those future eyes will see us is so important to us. In fact, we agonise over what latter generations will think. We, the children of the Industrial Revolution damn near ruined the earth... but we did try to save it!
Press save now.
I was reading an online comment this morning... let me say that I for one would like to save the English language from Gen Y's version of it.
Save now!
So... America of 125 years ago... where is she? I spent some terrific hours in State archives and libraries and museums looking for her. White gloves, important documents, and glorious maps! Too many books. Precious photographs of buildings and streetscapes that no longer exist. Some structures still stand; some maintained a usefulness that couldn't be denied and remain. Progress is very practically-minded.
I searched for her in other ways as well. I walked the streets of towns and cities a great deal, looking at what had been saved and filling in the gaps with archival photographs and documents. God love him, my husband walked everywhere with me. In fact, without him I would have got lost and needed... yep, saving!
I was staggered at what had not been saved. Progress was in full swing for much of the past 125 years; only in recent times have we become neurotic about what the future generations will think of our imminent ruination. The mind of Progress only thought how future generations will admire us for creating a better world.
I love inhabiting the world of Heartland, of Luke and Jennifer's Cheyenne. This world sees so much hope in the future. And yet it sits perched on the eve of some of the worst of human history. This is in Luke's future and the future of the generations that come after him. I know what they will face. But it doesn't deter me from hoping that things will all turn out well. For me, Luke is a symbol of hope, more so at times than liberty, which is what he would say he is. He is always trying to do better, hates to give up, and believes it will all turn out right in spite of what happens to be raging around him at the time. As Jennifer says "moving, creating, finding a way".
Recently, I heard a teacher address a high school graduation virtually scorning hope as useless sentimentality. That hopers are dreamers and aren't thinkers and doers. Intellect is first and last. But I believe that we human beings will always consider hope as one of our strongest and best traits. It gets us through, especially when our brains are confounded and our bodies exhausted. As we struggle to preserve our planet, to begin to make super human efforts to come together to do what we have to do, we need hope... or we will despair and give up. And our future selves will be right to condemn us.
American philosopher George Santayana famously wrote: "Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness... those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
If this is true then it must be because no matter how advanced we think we are or will become, we are always and essentially the same species, human, and to preserve the best of us, to learn from the worst, and to appreciate, value and understand everything in between, we have to remember to save as we go.
Save now.
The whole episode has got me to thinking how strongly we feel about having that save button in our lives. Right now I'm saving after every sentence... We in the 21st century are quite obsessed with saving. Saving our planet for one. Seems to me we have emerged from the Industrial Revolution with some serious regrets about what our achievements have done to our world. In the name of progress we have lost a lot and obliterated much along the way.
And we think in terms of what the future human race will think of us if we don't do some serious saving now. How those future eyes will see us is so important to us. In fact, we agonise over what latter generations will think. We, the children of the Industrial Revolution damn near ruined the earth... but we did try to save it!
Press save now.
I was reading an online comment this morning... let me say that I for one would like to save the English language from Gen Y's version of it.
Save now!
So... America of 125 years ago... where is she? I spent some terrific hours in State archives and libraries and museums looking for her. White gloves, important documents, and glorious maps! Too many books. Precious photographs of buildings and streetscapes that no longer exist. Some structures still stand; some maintained a usefulness that couldn't be denied and remain. Progress is very practically-minded.
I searched for her in other ways as well. I walked the streets of towns and cities a great deal, looking at what had been saved and filling in the gaps with archival photographs and documents. God love him, my husband walked everywhere with me. In fact, without him I would have got lost and needed... yep, saving!
I was staggered at what had not been saved. Progress was in full swing for much of the past 125 years; only in recent times have we become neurotic about what the future generations will think of our imminent ruination. The mind of Progress only thought how future generations will admire us for creating a better world.
I love inhabiting the world of Heartland, of Luke and Jennifer's Cheyenne. This world sees so much hope in the future. And yet it sits perched on the eve of some of the worst of human history. This is in Luke's future and the future of the generations that come after him. I know what they will face. But it doesn't deter me from hoping that things will all turn out well. For me, Luke is a symbol of hope, more so at times than liberty, which is what he would say he is. He is always trying to do better, hates to give up, and believes it will all turn out right in spite of what happens to be raging around him at the time. As Jennifer says "moving, creating, finding a way".
Recently, I heard a teacher address a high school graduation virtually scorning hope as useless sentimentality. That hopers are dreamers and aren't thinkers and doers. Intellect is first and last. But I believe that we human beings will always consider hope as one of our strongest and best traits. It gets us through, especially when our brains are confounded and our bodies exhausted. As we struggle to preserve our planet, to begin to make super human efforts to come together to do what we have to do, we need hope... or we will despair and give up. And our future selves will be right to condemn us.
American philosopher George Santayana famously wrote: "Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness... those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
If this is true then it must be because no matter how advanced we think we are or will become, we are always and essentially the same species, human, and to preserve the best of us, to learn from the worst, and to appreciate, value and understand everything in between, we have to remember to save as we go.
Save now.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Obession
Nothing worse than being given the runaround.
Can I help you?
Good morning. Make I speak with the buyer?
Not in today... here is our card... call and make an appointment tomorrow.
Ring ring...
Sorry, tied up in meetings all day... call back on Monday.
Gee, I can hardly wait for Monday.
This crowd doesn't respond to emails either. Even though they clearly want you to know their email address.
I'll let you know if I crack this one. Code word: Liberty!
This is teeny-tiny-fish in plenty-big-ocean stuff and like any small business it's one small step at a time. You really have to believe in your product. And it can get to be an obsession. In some ways it ought to be because when you exhibit signs of obsession at least you know that you have the passion to make a go of it.
Psychologically speaking, obsession seems to be a projection of our anxieties. Considered unheathy.
But when it comes to what drives us to achieve our goals it is also a measure of the level of our determination and commitment.
Surely some obsession is healthy then.
Thomas Edison's famous quote "invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration" illustrates my point. And if there is obsession to be found out there, those inventor-types have it in spades. Let's face it, anyone who will give all they've got to fulfilling their promise is to be admired.
Not just inventors though. There are so many, past and present, who provide inspiration to the perspiration.
It all starts with a 'something' that you believe in and won't let go of you until you refuse to let go of it. Then it's game on. Get out those hankies and start moping those brows!
And don't let those email-snubbing types make a dent in your obsession armour. Irony is they are so obsessed with what they do, they can't hear someone knocking on the front door, or the back door... or the window, like Cathy Earnshaw... let me in!
That's life in the world of obsession.
I've thought about the O word a lot recently, and if my theories are correct I'll be thinking about it for a long time to come.
Can I help you?
Good morning. Make I speak with the buyer?
Not in today... here is our card... call and make an appointment tomorrow.
Ring ring...
Sorry, tied up in meetings all day... call back on Monday.
Gee, I can hardly wait for Monday.
This crowd doesn't respond to emails either. Even though they clearly want you to know their email address.
I'll let you know if I crack this one. Code word: Liberty!
This is teeny-tiny-fish in plenty-big-ocean stuff and like any small business it's one small step at a time. You really have to believe in your product. And it can get to be an obsession. In some ways it ought to be because when you exhibit signs of obsession at least you know that you have the passion to make a go of it.
Psychologically speaking, obsession seems to be a projection of our anxieties. Considered unheathy.
But when it comes to what drives us to achieve our goals it is also a measure of the level of our determination and commitment.
Surely some obsession is healthy then.
Thomas Edison's famous quote "invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration" illustrates my point. And if there is obsession to be found out there, those inventor-types have it in spades. Let's face it, anyone who will give all they've got to fulfilling their promise is to be admired.
Not just inventors though. There are so many, past and present, who provide inspiration to the perspiration.
It all starts with a 'something' that you believe in and won't let go of you until you refuse to let go of it. Then it's game on. Get out those hankies and start moping those brows!
And don't let those email-snubbing types make a dent in your obsession armour. Irony is they are so obsessed with what they do, they can't hear someone knocking on the front door, or the back door... or the window, like Cathy Earnshaw... let me in!
That's life in the world of obsession.
I've thought about the O word a lot recently, and if my theories are correct I'll be thinking about it for a long time to come.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Birthday
Happy Birthday to me.
It always feels good once having set a goal to achieve it.
And the scrumptious dinner, delicious Tuscan chianti and pale pink roses weren't bad either. The thoughtful birthday offerings of a loving husband.
Greeting cards from family on the sideboard.
Left over birthday cake.
And thank you, Next Chapter Books.
Like I said, Happy Birthday to me...
It always feels good once having set a goal to achieve it.
And the scrumptious dinner, delicious Tuscan chianti and pale pink roses weren't bad either. The thoughtful birthday offerings of a loving husband.
Greeting cards from family on the sideboard.
Left over birthday cake.
And thank you, Next Chapter Books.
Like I said, Happy Birthday to me...
Monday, October 26, 2009
Goal
Thursday is my birthday and I have set myself a goal that for me is difficult, taking a further step in marketing the novel, and to achieve that goal on my birthday.
I said earlier that self-publishing is not easy... not easy for a writer who can sit with her imagination, her research and her laptop for hours at a time no prob, but who swears black and blue that marketing her product is hands down more daunting than writing a five hundred page historical novel.
Actually, my daughter's godmother is also a self-publisher, different genre altogther, and she also finds the marketing of her product the worst. And yet she is one of the most outgoing, outrageously extraverted persons I know. So what hope do I, being shy, retiring and chronically hermitic, have of achieving my goal?
On Thursday, or Friday, you'll know. We all will.
I said earlier that self-publishing is not easy... not easy for a writer who can sit with her imagination, her research and her laptop for hours at a time no prob, but who swears black and blue that marketing her product is hands down more daunting than writing a five hundred page historical novel.
Actually, my daughter's godmother is also a self-publisher, different genre altogther, and she also finds the marketing of her product the worst. And yet she is one of the most outgoing, outrageously extraverted persons I know. So what hope do I, being shy, retiring and chronically hermitic, have of achieving my goal?
On Thursday, or Friday, you'll know. We all will.
Monday, October 12, 2009
America
So... it's been a while. And where have I been? Being a self-publisher is not any easy gig. There is a great deal to do. The latest in a long line of exacting activities was something very special indeed... embarking on a research trip across the US.
Setting off from a cool and breezy San Francisco, fifteen major towns and cities, nine states (we bought those cool fridge magnets in the shape of states for every one we visited), and several legendary waterways and mountain chains later, my husband and I ended up in Boston.
We hired cars and negotiated the interstate exits, road the Amtrak - those who have not traversed the interior might not realize just how much corn is grown in the US (it's a lot) - and braved the skies... just how much cabin luggage can be sqeezed into one aircraft? American travelers are nothing if not intent at finding this out now that it costs quite a bit to check your luggage.
There was an adventure to be had around every corner.
Invariably a well known song about said corner sprang to mind. Truly.
We met the friendliest people.
At this stage I'm not sure how much to tell about the trip. It would mean divulging destinations and so give away bits and pieces relevant to future Liberty & Property Legends. Researching was the purpose of the trip afterall, but, well, we know it's a big country... it's awesome. I'd hop on the Amtrak tomorrow if I could. I so would. There is something to be said for boarding the California Zephyr at (undisclosed location) at dawn to find coach looking like a backpackers' campsite and a women and children's refuge all rolled into one. We're all come to look for America. And she is amazing.
Setting off from a cool and breezy San Francisco, fifteen major towns and cities, nine states (we bought those cool fridge magnets in the shape of states for every one we visited), and several legendary waterways and mountain chains later, my husband and I ended up in Boston.
We hired cars and negotiated the interstate exits, road the Amtrak - those who have not traversed the interior might not realize just how much corn is grown in the US (it's a lot) - and braved the skies... just how much cabin luggage can be sqeezed into one aircraft? American travelers are nothing if not intent at finding this out now that it costs quite a bit to check your luggage.
There was an adventure to be had around every corner.
Invariably a well known song about said corner sprang to mind. Truly.
We met the friendliest people.
At this stage I'm not sure how much to tell about the trip. It would mean divulging destinations and so give away bits and pieces relevant to future Liberty & Property Legends. Researching was the purpose of the trip afterall, but, well, we know it's a big country... it's awesome. I'd hop on the Amtrak tomorrow if I could. I so would. There is something to be said for boarding the California Zephyr at (undisclosed location) at dawn to find coach looking like a backpackers' campsite and a women and children's refuge all rolled into one. We're all come to look for America. And she is amazing.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Firsts
If you were going to nominate the people in your life you can truly count on, you know that included in that special group is your hairdresser. Let's face it, you trust them with one of your most important possessions - your hair. When I began the process of self-publishing my first novel, I shared the highs and lows with the girls in the salon... they always asked how it was coming along, what was going to happen next... their enthusiasm has been amazing. Then the day the books arrived who should buy the first copy but the girls at the salon. At my next appointment, last week, I discovered that there had been some serious reading going on, with some very exciting and encouraging feedback. HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels was out there and entertaining readers!
Then there is my first focus group... kind of a ya ya my old school friends... we had an old school friends launch at a favourite restaurant. Books were bought and signed. Let's face it, they are so lovely and loyal they would have bought a pamphlet on how to raise chickens in your backyard, but they were my first focus group for the cover of the book and I value everything they have to say. And by the way, we are not that old. What I love about them is that while life can separate us for a time when we get together we just pick up where we left off. One of their mums gave me my first feedback on the novel and she loved it.
Just wanted to thank everyone who has bought a book so far. I hope you enjoy it and I encourage you to get online and let me know how you feel about it. Join my list of firsts! Look forward to hearing from you.
Then there is my first focus group... kind of a ya ya my old school friends... we had an old school friends launch at a favourite restaurant. Books were bought and signed. Let's face it, they are so lovely and loyal they would have bought a pamphlet on how to raise chickens in your backyard, but they were my first focus group for the cover of the book and I value everything they have to say. And by the way, we are not that old. What I love about them is that while life can separate us for a time when we get together we just pick up where we left off. One of their mums gave me my first feedback on the novel and she loved it.
Just wanted to thank everyone who has bought a book so far. I hope you enjoy it and I encourage you to get online and let me know how you feel about it. Join my list of firsts! Look forward to hearing from you.
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