Thursday, July 15, 2021

Brazen Promotion of an Earlier Work - The Attic

 I know it's been a few months since I posted,  but I've been torn (again) between editing and writing my two manuscripts, "Winnowing" and "Hafandeg" (which was also renamed briefly as "Place of Dreams"). I think of scenes and dialogue for both of them at the most inopportune moments, usually as I'm trying to go sleep, or even - really! - cleaning out the cat litter tray. They both want to be published, I know. Somehow, one of them will take control. I'll let you know when that happens. I really intend to publish at least one of them this year.

Meanwhile, I re-read "The Attic" (which I so enjoyed writing) the other day. My sister, who inspired that book, died last year, but she was near me, I felt, during that reading. What a life she had! How much of her did I really capture in the novel? She loved it, but did point out, rather crossly, that she was a virgin when she married. I laughed, and said it was a fictionalized biography, that the spicy bits are expected with contemporary novels. I think she voiced a distinct "Hurumph" at that. 

Anyway, brazen or not, I've popped the details of The Attic here for you. Perhaps you'll "hurumph" at my audacity. Who do I think I am, promoting a novel that came out eight years ago?  But good books never age, do they? I still re-read oldies like "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" on a regular basis. I identify strongly with Francie. No comparison in subject matter, readability - or profitability - between me and Betty Smith, in fact, but I think we would have been friends.

I must thank Sarahbeth Purcell for her lovely review. I think she's a better writer than I am, incidentally, although her books are edgier than mine. I envy her that.

Until next time. Stay safe.

PS -  I think Hafan Deg might be the major player this year. Can't stop writing it in my head.

Quotes to Consider

"If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, Either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing." ~Benjamin Franklin

"Well behaved women rarely make history."~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”~William G.T. Shedd (1820-1894), theologian, teacher, pastor

"It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." ~Franklin D Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd U.S. president

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), essayist, poet, philosopher


"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
~ Wayne Gretzky