Couldn't decide if this was worth blogging or if it should go up on the noteboard. Ah well, I suppose I should save that space for announcements. The this I'm wondering about is actually an email I sent to a writer relative of mine. It lists what I was doing around the 10th of June. He had just apologized for not posting on the FB page of our online writing group's site. This was my response:

 It's okay. I've moved on to so many things I haven't had any time for this either. I joined that group of self publishers. I've learned the difference between print to publish and print on demand. I'm registered at smashwords and prepping my two crime novels to become eBooks. I've got Yetzirah half rewritten and should have it to the print publisher by mid-September. I wrote a propsal for NIWA to host a forum at the NWbooksellers event. I have space at a table at Orycon33. I'm guest blogging. Just divided in half and now have two websites and two writing names. I've friened about 100 of the most famous sci fi authors in the world. I've even had some online conversations with some of them. I've attended a lecture by one of my favorite how to write gurus. And to top it off the office is done and now I have to declutter and figure out how I want to set up everything. Oh, and there's the full time job, remodeling the house and a few things like that. Good thing I'm insane!

Wow! When you see it on paper like that it's almost overwhelming. And the beat goes on. Five months later and I'm currently just about done with prep for Orycon. I've created a price menu, eBook cards, generic cards, a bookmark offering 7 books by 7 NIWA writers for $7.99, created a website to place NIWA member's books along with descriptions, reviews, all the commerce sites they link to, made a catalog page with a link to that website written on it. I've packed my books and display stands. Purchased 250 cups, wine flutes, shot glasses, plates and napkins. Still have to pick up some rum and coke for the party room. There's a NIWA meeting this weekend to go over all this, plus to talk about what came from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Trade Show, where the folks who attended made great connections and it sounds like some plans for books signings. All this and keeping up with the social media stuff. Yeah, it's exhausting, but also a whole lot of fun.  

Or that should be, oh my aching head. Last night's party, the 10th annual, got off to a slow start but gained traction when a good friend, but lousy bartender, mixed me a drink that, well let's say the aftereffects are memorable. I did my day after penance by cleaning the house, so now I'm going to have some fun and work on a book trailer and some T-shirts. I'm designing two T-shirts. One has pictures of my book covers and beneath them text that says, "Yes, I did write those books, and yes, I would love to talk about them!" The second says. "My friend wrote this book and all I got was this lousy T-shirt." I thought that would be a fun giveaway at a book signing. Of course anything I think is fun or creative today may be in question. Happy Halloween! 

Back in 2009 I got serious about writing and I started a blog. At some point I began to sell a lot of articles and got away from fiction. My website changed and in all the fussing around I lost a whole year of blog posts. None of those posts were all that noteworthy, but as a summary of the year they were really nice to have. Tonight I went looking for them and luckily found a summary of that year. I'm posting it here as sort of a historical backdrop to the blogging that has gone on since. 

Month by Month Highlights - 2009
January: Joined Willamette Writers
February: Attended writer’s conference on Oregon Coast and met Timothy Zahn
March: Officiated at my daughter’ wedding
April: Accompanied husband to Depoe Bay to exhibit his hand built Baidarka (Aleutian Kayak)
May: EOC activated, served as SitStat Leader during H1N1 crisis. Threw Kentucky Derby Party.
June: Finished rewrite of novel, “Something in the Dark.”  I am tired
July: Became Grandmother to baby Emma
August: Hiked high desert caldera
September: Started writing novel, “Cold Kill.”
October: Helped host annual Halloween party
November: Completed NANOWRIMO challenge to write a novel in one month
December: Taking travel writing course online. 
 
After that I decided to take a year off from writing and blogging. We were remodeling the house and it seemed selfish to disappear into my computer at every spare moment. In December of 2010 I returned to the computer. I finished and published two novels, Something in the Dark and Yetzirah: The Pocket Worlds. In 2011 I joined NIWA, the Northwest Independent Writers Association. What happens next is anyone's guess. 

An amazing year. New writing friends. New writing group. I'm involved in so many different projects that you'd think I'd feel like I was being pecked to death by ducks. Yet somehow it all seems to combine into one harmonious, zen like sense of rightness. I'm doing what I should be, with the right people, at the right time, with the right skills. 

It's a little scary to be in this place. Maybe it's just a moment on the upcycle of the Great Irony. Probably I will crash and burn. As my Russian/German Mom used to say, "Don't act too happy, you'll call hell down on yourself." She wanted me to stay quiet so I'd be safe, and go unnoticed. Well, about the worst thing that can happen to a writer is to go unnoticed. Sending out press releases, attending book signings and conferences, all the many elements of salesmanship that go into book marketing are pretty much at odds with keeping a low profile.

Sorry Mom, going to have to take a shot that the devil's busy at the moment. Maybe he's having too much fun to pay any attention. After all he's probably been busy helping destroy the ozone, global warming, a war or three, the world-wide economic mess, and even possibly the creation of a new strain of something horrid...like cilantro.