#amwriting – Page 18 – Rebekah Lyn Books

Florida Bookstore Day at The Book Rack

Yesterday I went to our small downtown, here in Titusville, to the Book Rack for Florida Bookstore Day. I packed twenty-seven Florida Springs Trilogy books in an Office Depot cart. I should have ordered the extra three earlier because they didn’t come in time for the book signing.

I arrived after the other four writers did, partly because I had to go back in and change my clothes for warmer weather. It was good that I arrived when I did – my station was down at the end and the only one that had a lovely shade tree growing overhead. As the day wore on several beautiful leaves fell onto my table.

I unloaded the car, using Rebekah Lyn’s cart to wheel my card-table and two chairs to the site. It must have been a funny sight for the people across the street, but I didn’t look to see if anyone was watching. The cart was out of control as it wove down the sidewalk, the table slid off, and the two pillows under my arm slid too.

While I was getting set up, my good friend, from China, came to see me. I’d put on Facebook that I would be there. She lives a busy life working up to three part time jobs and has a husband and daughter that she tends to very well, so we don’t get to see each other often. We chatted while I set out the books, then she went to get her seven-year-old- daughter who was at the community theater a block over taking acting lessons. She brought her over and I was so glad to see her.

There weren’t many people downtown, but there was a lot of action as our town was having a food truck wars that evening, with fifty food trucks. Have you heard about them? It’s almost like a carnival with the huge semi-trucks and trailers roaring by to find their places.

Two radio stations set up their music stages so close to each other you knew they were going to blast everyone to deafness. I hoped we’d be gone before they started up.

At noon, Bill came down and had an egg salad sandwich I’d packed for him. He talked to the man next to us who said his Indie book, about hiking the Appalachian Trail, had been picked up by a publishing company, but he was so busy marketing it, he didn’t have time to write any more.

One man stood at each table and read everything except the books slowly and carefully. He looked different. He had wavy, grizzled hair, glasses, and pants that puckered at the waist where his belt was. I couldn’t place him until his friend came by decidedly dirty and homeless. The friend spoke in a loud voice about the Titusville ghost, whom I have never met, nor even heard about before. I definitely did not want to hear about him now. Lacking an audience, the second man rambled away.

I got up and gave the first man one of my cards because he looked so desperate for something to read and I knew that feeling. He then started on a soliloquy about the bookstore business. His parents had been in that field. I was interested the first three times I heard his story, and I wanted to be nice to him, but then I wanted to escape and Bill helped me out in his own courteous and kindly way by drawing my attention away.

Pam bought huge cups of iced tea for each of us which went down a treat, and we chatted as we slipped across the street into the back of a restaurant where their restroom was. I am a customer, just not that day. I also got some time in with Pam’s daughter, Jen, but I was too busy to talk much with the other writers who were all men, except for Rebekah Lyn.

Then it was time to pack up and go home. Bill helped me lug all the paraphernalia across the street to the car. I took home all twenty-seven books, but I wasn’t the least bit down or disappointed. I’d had a fine day with “family” and meeting a few new people, the weather was beautiful and I was satisfied with my life. I’ll sell some books someday another way. I’m sure of it.

Psalm 118:24

New Living Translation
This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Commenting on Comments~Part 1

I enjoyed all the comments that came from the blog. ”Writing – What is Easy, What is Hard.”

Mary Harwell Sayler, doyenne of Christian Poets and Writers asked writers to tell her what they find easy about writing and what they find difficult.

My bottom line answer was that I found blogs easy, but isolated spots in my novels are as hard to write as good pie crust is to make.

I mentioned that I could hardly wait to get my new iPhone so that I’d always have a camera with me. It seems I often come home from somewhere and want to write a blog about it, but because I don’t make an effort to take my digital camera, I have to scrounge to get something together.

SCOTT’S COMMENT:

Great idea! I have a good smart phone, and occasionally use it as a camera.

JESS SAID

That new phone needs to come home today. Since your birthday was recent, I think a gift of that phone for you and your stories for us would be a great way to celebrate.

Our guru and his wife (our daughter) brought pizza and our new phones last week. We had a big phone party and enjoyed ourselves very much. I learned a lot, and know I have a whole lot more to know. I can take pictures with it, but still have a few difficulties to overcome such as getting the pictures anywhere except my phone so I can put them in my blogs.

I understand you can email them, but I turned on the email and the inbox got flooded with old messages I already had on my computer and it turned me off. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy emails, but since I spend most of my time at home, I don’t need a mailbox full of letters I’ve already answered, stored, deleted, or junked.

There’s something about a full box of emails that disturbs me like dirty dishes in the sink or a meowing cat that needs to be fed. I try to keep the emails washed, ironed, folded and put away so I don’t have laundry lying around. I won’t say dirty laundry, because it’s not that. I could work through it all in a doctor’s waiting room, but in order to keep up, I’d have to go to the doctor a lot more often.

That’s about all I have to say about the new phone, except this, I haven’t learned to take my fingers off the buttons so I got a whole filmstrip of the shadows on the trail – all alike as far as I could tell. It’s pretty cute if I do say so, but I don’t know how to show it to you – yet! My new phone has a stabilizer so the days of tremulous vibrations are over. Thank the Lord for that!

I loved the rest of what Scott said: I also find myself inspired by things I see when biking or walking, or even on the bus: people, nature, situations. If I could find a quiet spot and few minutes, I could quickly use my electronics to publish a fast blog post.

I got clear pictures and the flavor of his activities. I could imagine him on a rock next to a lake, or at a coffee shop writing away on a blog and having the pictures and everything he needed to send it all off right then. I’ve never thought of it like that before. He’s going to be one of my role models, and one of these days maybe I’ll be able to do something like that too. Until then, I may have to ask Rebekah Lyn to help with the pictures for this blog. Next weekend, we’re going to be sitting outside an Independent bookstore signing our novels as people purchase them. We might get a minute between signing books to work on getting the pictures from the cell phone onto this blog, at that time. Meanwhile, here’s one about the festival we’re attending.

A few minutes after I wrote that, Rebekah Lyn called and asked if she could come over. She helped with the email, but she got tired of deleting them too, so I’ll have to do it a bit at a time. It’s worth it to be able to use the pictures. So I didn’t have to wait until Saturday to get my selfie uploaded for you. Ain’t I cute? Ha. But seriously I am very impressed with the lack of blurring from shakiness! We paid extra for it on the 5s, but it comes with the 6 and Rebekah Lyn is pretty sure her IPad has it too. That’s one of the greatest advances in photography, but they’re all great, aren’t they?

I just added the word selfies to my dictionary.

Writing~What is Easy What is Hard

Mary Harwell Sayler, doyenne of Christian Poets and Writers has asked writers to tell her what we find easiest about writing and what is hardest for us. I’ve been thinking the questions over and I’d like to tell her these things.

Blogs are easy for me, though I’m sure she’s not asking what genres we like or don’t like. But I’ll tell you why I find blogs such a pleasure to write. Like journaling they let me re-live good experiences twice. Take the blogs I wrote today: one was about going to see the “Gone With The Wind Exhibit” in Orlando on my birthday and one was about a fall Saturday when I got a lot out of ordinary things. Both of these will be on www.oldthingsrnew.com on a Monday at some point.

I’m going to get a new phone one of these day with a really good camera because I’ve discovered that whether I go out for a meal, take a walk, or finish a piece of artwork, it’s probably going to flow from my brain and heart in a blog and I’m going to want pictures. Quite likely if I don’t take notes, I’ll wish I had those too. All my senses are keener when I know I’ll want to write about the experience, and I’m convinced I enjoy things twice as much. While things are happening my brain is recording. I see a string of third graders riding bikes on the trail and ask their leaders what’s going on as they pass. I count the children – eighteen. When I got to a neighborhood yard sale, I want to tell who I saw, what I bought, and the reasons for everything. Once I got overly nosy like a real reporter, and got “thrown out” of a big library. I wanted to know about all the homeless people I saw hanging about. I thought it was great that they had a splendid place to be in the daytime. The woman at whose desk I sat to ask my questions apparently thought I was there to make trouble. I can’t talk about that she said primly and clamped her mouth shut. I said, “Oh, okay,” and left. Now, I’m more interested than ever, of course, but I won’t pursue it as a real reporter might.

Memoir, blogs, experiences, descriptions are the easiest things for me, the hardest task comes when I’m writing a novel and must come up with a new scene. What happens next? Then my imagination groans and labors like an old furnace starting up after a halcyon summer off.

Everything we do has hard and easy parts to it, we do it anyway, especially if we are called to it and have found that we love it. So that’s my answer for Mary Harwell Sayler’s question. I’m glad I was inspired to think it through. Thanks, Mary.

I’m Beginning to Figure it Out

Things are coming together for my art now, things I couldn’t figure out before. It’s difficult for me to write and do art on the same pages, but now I think I’ll go ahead and take some of my Biblical paraphrases from my regular journal and put them in my visual one with drawings and beautiful colors. They’re just the ticket when I need something to remind me of God’s love and lift me out of the doldrums.

I have several unused, mixed-media visual journals, Strathmore makes different sizes. I’ve used the “8” x “12” and the “8” x “5” trying to decide which one I like best, and I’m now getting ready to use the “8” x “5”. They will receive wet or dry media, so they’ll be fine for what I need.

Meanwhile, as I wait for my new books to come in the mail, I’m reading one I didn’t really like too much at first. After I’ve read a few pages I have to jump up and get to work (I mean get to playing). I’m so excited and so happy. I’m going to have a bit more vacation, and when I get back into the Go West drafts, I’m going to have visual journaling as a well-established habit so I won’t lose it again. Oh, and here’s really good news. I’ve prayed for years to be able to give up TV at night, but I had to watch just about everything I could find on Netflix at least twice before I got bored enough to give it up. I felt in my bones that I could spend my time better doing art or just about anything in the evenings including reading and going to bed earlier. I’m loving it.

Here’s a page of paraphrasing from my regular journal. You’ve probably seen things like this before. Some call it personalizing, others call it dialoguing with God. This kind of writing comforts me and lifts me.

Beloved:

Anyone who signs up for the kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times. I’m here, helping you through them – getting you out of them, and making you stronger and making your faith stronger as you go. You are my beloved child in whom I am well pleased. I am with you all the way.” I believe that is the Holy Spirit talking to me, and it’s not about whether to write or paint, but about my relationship with Him.

After I wrote that I went on to write about the beginning of the day.

“The light out here on the porch is gorgeous today! There’s a kind of gold in all the green. A pileated woodpecker flies over cuck-cucking his loud call, and then, as if he needs more notice, wings over again seeking attention by flapping around and making a lot of noise.

Other than that, the morning is still except for work-time and tourist traffic up on I-95, a blue jay’s “swearing,” a squirrel’s “purring” itself back to sleep, the AC, a train, and a private airplane overhead. I have my own Classic Solo Piano station going (Pandora) and the music is so beautiful, I feel expansive and grateful. Thanks for reading this blog.