I found out the Marketing Company I thought was going to publish my novel is really a sort of editing company and the chances of them publishing anything is almost nil. I removed myself . Feeling really foolish, I am forcing myself back to the drawing board and realizing like a diet there are no shortcuts. To lose weight I have to exercise and watch what I eat. To get published I have to send work out and write everyday.

Today I got an e-mail from the John Kenneth Galbraith Literary Award committee and I am a finalist. I am so back to work. It is amazing the boost this has given me. My work is worthy. That is how it makes me feel and I hope that feeling sees me through for a while. There are eleven other finalists so I know there are eleven other writers today who feel good. To all of them I send my congratulations.

my nibble is pulling on the line

I had word today that my manuscript has been accepted and they believe it is publishable. I need to have a professional critique now and then we'll see what I will have to do after that. It is a mystery to me how this all works but I am following some professionals and hopefully all will turn out well.

Work on the house is progressing. The front porch floor was taken up today and the junk under it taken out. I had about 20 adults and children going through the "treasures" old marbles, papers, fliers, cigarette packages, pipes, silverware etc. the floor beams are now tied together and the floor is a lot steadier. Now the insulation, windows, sheet rock and more before winter I hope. It will be a great room to work on my writing projects. It will definitely be a place for dreaming up new plot lines.

I am reading "The Tin Roof Blowdown" by James Lee Burke for my book club this month. It is very scary when you realize the south is getting ready for another hit.

finally a nibble from an agent

Today I had a nibble from an agent. They will read my manuscript and reply with the news I need to hear. Either keep writing or give it up as a bad job. Now I have to find a way to wait for a reply.

I am having work done on my house so that should keep me busy. I have all of the flower beds torn up and needing to be replanted now that the foundation work is done. The lawn around the beds needs to be fixed. The front porch is empty and the sheet rock removed. I found a ten foot brick wall (the original house). Needless to say that will stay. Now the floor has to be removed and the junk that the builders sometime this past century put in there has to be removed and the floor joists strengthened. My problem is the last time I tried to gather the junk I found two newspapers from 1951 and by the time I had read them it was dark. The advice column alone was terrifying. No wonder our generation has so many hangups. Well I must get busy but all I want to do is stare at the screen and hope for a reply soon.

the first day

I am a writer. Everyone says I need a blog. Now I have a blog. How to I feel? Blogged. Now what?