From My Window
For me, and probably for you, the 24-hour television news cycle is often a downer. Every time I turn on news, I hear about more deaths in Ukraine, more sorrow about Covid, and more school shootings. Like me, you may limit television news viewing. Yet I’m grateful for the journalists who put their lives in danger to keep me informed.
These journalists are brave, determined, dedicated people. I commend them and wish them safe passage in these troubled times.
While I can’t change the world, I can change my tiny, tiny corner of it. I can be informed, write articles and books that help others, donate to worthy causes, and volunteer nationally or locally. That’s why I’m a candidate for the Charter House Residents’ Council. I may not be elected, but at least my heart is in the right place, and I tried.
Because I’m Assistant Editor of the Open to Hope Foundation website, www.opentohope.com, I’m in touch with many authors. My duties include asking authors to write for us, share excerpts from their books, and suggesting authors for radio, television, and podcasts. I feel honored to be part of the Open to Hope team and am learning as I go. Thanks for thinking of me, Open to Hope.
Thanks to The Compassionate Friends, an international organization for bereaved parents and families, for inviting me to speak at the national conference in Houston, Texas. I’ll be giving two workshops, one titled “Grief Doodling: A Snapshot of Your Journey” and the other titled “Affirmation Writing: A Forward Step on the Healing Path.” Because I’m a former teacher (once a teacher, always a teacher) I’ll have handouts for both sessions.
Book Business
Grief Doodling: Bringing Back Your Smiles is a 2021finalist in the INDIE Foreword awards. I was excited when I heard the news, and doubly excited to see the cover pictured in the May/June 2022 of Foreword magazine. The blurb tells a little about the book and cites my publisher, WriteLife. I’ve worked with this publisher many times and enjoy the process.
First Steps, First Snow, my forthcoming children’s book, will be officially released on September 13, 2022. However, the book is already on Amazon and available for pre-order. Log into Amazon and watch the wonderful video about the book. I’m spreading the news in other ways, including the Miami Book Fair, one of the largest in the nation.
If the Author Selection Committee accepts First Steps, First Snow, it will be displayed at the fair, and I could be asked to speak. Authors who are accepted for the fair are notified by email. Authors who are rejected receive no email. Though being a freelancer for 44 years taught me to accept “yay” and “nay” decisions, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Images from Amazon.com
I’m excited about being asked to appear on the “Dr. Roger” radio show on VoiceAmerica, a leading producer and distributor of online programs. Roger Landry, MD, MPH is author of the award-winning book, Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging. Roger and his wife Paula are friends from my days at Aerospace Medical Association conferences and serving as President of the Wing. Our Zoom recording session is scheduled for June 30th and I don’t know when it will go live. Thanks for thinking of me, Paula and Roger.
Reviews
Nature and changing seasons enrich our lives. First Steps, First Snow, a book based on a real experience, tells a story about two kids walking in the woods after a snowstorm. Watercolor illustrations by Carol Hill Quirk invite readers on the walk and foster the observation of nocturnal animals and woodlands. At the end of the story, the kids and animals are cozy and sound asleep.
Reviews make an author’s world go round. I’ve submitted First Steps, First Snow to The Children’s Book Reviews, Common Sense Media, and authors of nature books for children. I need your review. If you’re a grandparent, parent, or book lover, contact me via my website, and I’ll send you an electronic copy. First Steps, First Snow turned out just like I dreamed. If I say so myself, it’s a beautiful book.
Photo by Kathy Meyer, R.N.
Quote of the Month
A book is a gift you can open again and again. - Garrison Keillor, American author, singer, humorist, and radio personality.