How often does the average person get to say she has almost nothing (severe) to complain about? That everything is, for once, going better than she ever dared to imagine?
It feels so deliciously dangerous to say that. I've been superstitious for far too long. I sincerely believed (though I would never say so out loud) that the moment I opened my arms and declared "I AM HAPPY!" Satan would chuckle and say "HA! Only a matter of time, girl. Better watch it."
Now, I think I'm finally at a place where I can tell ol' Satan to shove it.
Recap of this last week: sold every book at the signing (okay, so only ten copies were ordered...guess the Learned Owl was serious when they told me religious books don't sell very well. BUT, they were all bought within the first 15 minutes and additional copies were ordered from the store's database...sounds like success to me!).
I want to thank all my childhood heroes -- Belle, Matilda, and Harriet the Spy for encouraging my love of reading and writing! Couldn't have done this without you guys!
I deposited my first royalty check yesterday. Just under $160! 39 books in all sold over the last 2 months. And then I got interviewed by the Akron Beacon Journal! I don't know how my little book got their attention, but I almost fell out of my chair when the reporter asked if she could do a story on me. Good thing it wasn't a recorded interview. It was probably not very professional to squeak "Really? Really?!!" about five times before answering any questions. My voice went up a few octaves with nervousness and excitement, I probably sounded like a dying mouse on helium. And I probably rambled too much. But I'll do better next time. *knocks on wood*
And finally...one more triumph...I got an awesome opportunity to make some money for my jewelry-making. Check it out!
That's from a place called B. Lux Boutique in Hudson. Haven't sold anything yet, but the display has only been up for a few days. So between the book sales and now my jewelry...I get to afford groceries this semester! Yay!!!
Not a bad way to close this "gap year," I think. Not bad at all.
"Speak of the devil and he shows his tail," is what I've been told. AND "idle hands are the devil's playthings," I've also been told.
ReplyDeleteKeep busy with that jewelry making and you will certainly find the time in your life to write books...not as rude a comment after you've parsed it. You see, that is the way a thoughtful mind wrestles through those difficulties that are thrown in our way by times of anxiety, crisis or doubt. You write about becoming a chaplain or rape crisis counselor. Do you suggest that manual arts are helpful to calming an "excessively" "creepy" soul? I stumble through here, not to cause any trouble, but typing my thoughts on an open forum of mostly privately interested parties aides in the sorting out of the jumbled thoughts and avoids that wicked "word salad" that is so awful to comprehend by others. No glorious speeches necessary. "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say it," another statement delivered by a Christian to help shut me up, so this open letter writing format of communication is a very nice way to see gentle women and SciFi Speedster, gymnastika or whatever his name was, and the Reader of books discussing their ideas and proposing their "evolving" literary works. I've been tracing your commentors, and I believe I have begun to find signifiers and linkages between the patterned textual forms of several of the pseudonomynous posters and that oddly named individual whose comments are often removed.
I may have found a solution to one of life's little problems during my free time. When one lacks in money one may take up writing. Marketable ideas, like home made jewelry, are rare and valuable. Strong ideas are marketable, but will they be appreciated? To whom will strong ideas be marketed if ears are deaf to them? Not bad, not a bad way to close that "gap year" I think, not bad at all. At all. Signed, humbled commentor.