I have been hard at work lately on several different projects. I won’t bore you with the details. Let’s just get to the two biggest things right now.
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Woolly Bookworm
The weather has been great this week. The temperature is just about perfect, between 60 and 70 degrees. The grass turns green more and more each day. Daffodils are emerging from their winter slumber. The weeping cherry tree in my front yard is in bloom. After a cold, dreary winter, it feels great.
The season has also sparked creativity.
It is the time of year when we are flooded with messages about gratitude. I admit that, after a while, it is a bit taxing on the nerves.
Still, I firmly believe that we must be appreciative of what we have. As we all know too well, good fortune is fleeting.
I would like to end my year with a few expressions of gratitude:
I am grateful to every person who reads my books. It never ceases to amaze me that someone actually finds the darn things and then decides to read them. Thank you so much for taking the time. It truly means the world to me.
I am grateful that, somehow, I find a way. Call it luck, divine intervention, whatever you like. Financially, things have been very tight for a bit. Yes, it is a disaster of my own making. My mental health has dramatically improved, though. It takes a lot of work, but I manage.
I am grateful for Gracie and Chewie. Gracie is 17 now which is old for a dog. I would love to have 17 more years with her. Realistically, that’s not possible. I am glad she continues to endure and seems to be in relatively good health.
Chewie’s presence pushes her to walk farther and keeps her calm in anxious situations. In turn, he enjoys seeing the variety of wildlife on our daily walkies, eating homemade goodies, and snuggling on the sofa.
What are your three things?
Recently, I have faced a battle with technology. I am not referring to the emergent threat of artificial intelligence (AI). Much has been said about AI’s threat to all professions, particularly creative endeavors. No, I refer to the battle with algorithms.
Algorithms determine one’s placement on websites, in searches, et cetera. They are the engine that drives people to a product. People devote entire careers to optimizing descriptions and other items so that a mysterious algorithm gives choice placement to the product.
Don’t have a lot of sales (like, millions)? Don’t have millions of followers? Don’t use the right keywords? Don’t have a big corporation backing you? Well, good luck to you! Getting noticed by the algorithm becomes less about the quality of your product and more of a popularity contest. Geez, it’s high school all over again!
Of course, I speak from experience. I have noticed random issues with my books on Amazon’s site. Sometimes, you must click “books” as the category in the search bar . Sometimes, you can type the title in the search bar and find the book right away. Or, on a particular day, you must be ultra precise. I have heard that you cannot type “Wooly.” You need the second “L” in the title Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop. There is no standard pattern. It varies from day to day.
Small businesses deserve notice. What can you do when you hear about a great product and cannot find it? Be patient. Keep looking. Contact the business owner. Don’t give up! Until the business owner generates enough “likes” or sales, they will remain buried in the algorithm. They need your support.
As we move into the busy holiday shopping season, it is important to highlight the issue. Sure, I would love more sales. This post is really for all small business owners. It is hard enough to do business with rising costs from materials to vendor fees. They produce a quality product. They don’t need a phantom algorithm hiding it. Help us all by supporting your favorite small business.
I am having a sale in my Etsy shop. From July 5 to July 9, 2023, enjoy 20% off all bookmarks. Shipping is free, so it’s a great deal. You can follow my shop at GiftOverYourself.etsy.com.
In fact, you should follow it all the time. I have another sale planned for next week, during Prime Days. I have other ideas for sales further down the road. And, you’ll be the first to know when I add new products. I have already made several Christmas ornaments that I will offer soon.
It’s also not a bad idea to follow my Facebook page. I have started researching the next book in the “Through the Mist” series. You’ll find updates there as I continue the process. I will post info about other projects I am working on as well. I have several ideas – we will see what makes it.
Stay tuned – exciting things to come!
I have been working for months now on a special project, setting up my Etsy shop. The name - Gift Over Yourself.
Now - some tips for searching on Etsy. First, they don’t put spaces in between the words. You’ll have to search for a shop called “GiftOverYourself.” Second, make sure you tell it to look for the shop. Otherwise, you will see a bunch of listings for other shops and items.
You can find unique gifts that I created as well as curated collections for both the "Through the Mist" and "Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop" books. I also have a special box for a favorite book of mine, Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”
You can find the shop here: https://giftoveryourself.etsy.com/
I hope everyone will take a moment to visit the site and, even better, place an order! Right now, I am only accepting orders in the US as I learn more about the ins and outs of having a shop.
Keep an eye on the site. I intend to add more listings in the coming months.
Some people describe good stories as onions. Layer by layer, you discover new insights.
If you follow my Facebook page, you’ll know that I have returned to the fifth book in the Through the Mist series. (And, if you don’t follow it, you totally should. You’re missing some adorable pics of my dogs.)
I had about 75 percent of the story completed before I got stuck. To clear my mind, I produced Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop. As expected, focusing on something completely different unblocked my brain and allowed me to figure out what I wanted to do with the remaining 25 percent of the fifth book.
If you haven’t had an opportunity to check out Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop, you should. You can find the book on Amazon in both paperback and ebook form. It is a contemporary romance about a second chance at finding love. Set in a rural town based on my own hometown, Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop follows Peg Alexander. Is she too old to find her happily-ever-after? Absolutely not!
Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop will give you something to chew on while I focus on the fifth book in the TTMR series. I am currently adding those aforementioned layers to the existing material. For example, saying that a character walked through snow doesn’t really do anything for you, does it? Was the wind blowing? Was the character cold? Was it day? Was it night? I want you to be able to insert yourself into the scene and feel what the character is feeling. That takes some work.
Oh, I should probably write the ending too. LOL
The year certainly didn’t turn out as I anticipated. While quitting the job was always on my mind, I never expected that I would actually take the big leap. I miss the income. I don’t miss the job.
Like quitting my job, adopting another dog is something I have wanted to do for years. I could never find the right match, though. Gracie does not like most dogs. Then, Chewie came into our lives. His former owner wanted to find a place where the pet parent would be home most of the time. Well, an unemployed writer fits that requirement!
Though I never wanted a male Shih-Tzu dog, he turned out to be exactly what we needed. Gracie tolerates him most of the time and might even like him on rare occasions. He calms her whenever I am away from the house. He chills beside me whenever I watch TV. He is a great dog.
None of these things would have been possible, though, without work. I spent almost 30 years at an investment firm. Naturally, I picked up some tips along the way that could be used by the average person. Be sure to follow me, because I will drop little tidbits in future posts.
I have spent the last few months doing something I always wanted to do - write full time. I produced Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop and took several classes and watched several webinars. I read loads of things about self-publishing, writing, marketing, et cetera. It has been great.
Unfortunately, I haven’t received huge windfalls of cash. Hell, I haven’t received any windfalls! How have I survived? You may find yourself in a situation someday where you don’t have an income either. Here are three tips to prepare for that day:
Save, save, save. Most people could not cover an unexpected expense of $500. I was one of those people for a long time. I set up an automatic deduction from my checking account into my savings account. The amount wasn’t much. Still, the balance increased over time, and that’s the whole point. I will talk more about this topic in future posts, because it is a topic that is dear to my heart.
Look for “free” money - part one. My credit cards have “reward” points that I can apply to my balance, use for purchases at Amazon and other places, et cetera. Inflation is out of control. I charge everything to my credit cards and use the points to buy needed essentials. Note - this only works if you are diligent about paying off your credit card(s) every month.
Look for “free” money - part two. Pay attention when you make purchases, particularly on Amazon. Sometimes, vendors will offer incentives if you delay delivery.
Let’s use Amazon as an example. If I defer delivery by several days, they sometimes offer promotional credits. I then use those credits for “free” e-books, movie rentals, or other digital content. Do I really need something the next day or the day after? Usually, the answer is no. Why not take advantage of the credits then? I can use them to get something I want later.
Again, I will talk more in the future about tips to survive the “no income” time of your life. I have discovered a lot.
As I look ahead to 2023, I have a newfound hope. Sure, I have no income, the books aren’t selling, and I will have to get a job. I don’t view those things as negatives as I once would have. I survived 2022. I survived a global pandemic. I can survive - and so can you!
You need to know a few things before I tell this story. First, my sister has five kids. With that many kids in a household, it is inevitable that someone will be sick. I cannot tell you how many family gatherings have been cancelled because one (or more) of the kids happened to be sick. In fact, Covid has visited the household at least three times.
Second, I am a bit of a germaphobe. If anyone even sneezes, I am outta there.
Third, I don’t typically eat large meals anymore, and I certainly don’t eat the rich dishes typically served at Thanksgiving.
Fourth, if you have read Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop, you know that blueberry lemon icebox cake is served for dessert at one of the meals.
Fifth - and most important - the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
Okay - finally - the story. For Thanksgiving this year, I made blueberry lemon icebox cake as one of our desserts. (Yes, one of our desserts - we tend to go overboard.) In my grand plan, I would cut a slice on the big day, take some pictures, and post them either here or my Facebook page.
The big day arrived. I removed the cake from the freezer. It was frozen solid. If I had a chainsaw, I might have been able to cut it. So, I guess I would just take pics at my sister’s house - on to Plan B.
The meal was a feast. I ate way, way too much. When it came time for dessert, we cut into the blueberry lemon icebox cake. It was still frozen in about 75 percent of the dish, but at least we could cut it. Wow - it was delicious. I looked forward to snapping some pics later. The bright lemon and blueberry flavors were refreshing after such a heavy meal. I imagined it truly would have been the perfect dessert on a hot summer day, as it was written in my book.
Well, it wasn’t long after eating the dessert that my stomach was very unsettled. Within minutes, I “expelled” the dessert. It wasn’t how I wanted to end the meal, with my head in the toilet.
So, yeah, I see the irony that the germaphobe is the only person who got sick that day. Everyone else who ate the dessert felt fine.
P.S.
Sorry, no pics of the dessert - I never wanted to see it again!
Wahoo! The book is done!!
It is available for pre-order today. Or, you can wait until tomorrow. I created both an e-book and paperback on Amazon.
The new book is a contemporary romance about Peg Alexander. An older divorced lady, she built a cozy life for herself on her family’s farm in rural North Carolina. She was thoroughly content. Then, John Sweeney returned to town and completely upended her life.
The story is built on questions. Does love have an expiration date? Do we only get an opportunity for love when we are in the first blush of our youth? Or, can we hope for a second chance later in life? Can we still feel that flutter in our hearts and shaking in our knees (not related to medical conditions) even when Society tells us we are ‘past our prime’?
Happy reading!