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Juggling act

I’m juggling plans for my book launch, scheduling speaking engagements, helping to organize the history room/library in the new building at Rocky River Presbyterian Church, compiling notes for docents to have at four history stations at the church on November 1 for a community day, and planning a series of monthly church history talks to begin in September.

My reading time is suffering, and my sewing and quilting time has evaporated. I’m not complaining, though. It is wonderful to have so many interests and activities!

Book release alert: Just 14 days until the publication of The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, by Arcadia Publishing.

Another deadline met!

This has been an exciting week! On Tuesday I went for my first head shot. I do not enjoy having my picture made, but Joanna Rogers of Memories by JoannaR put me at ease and made me look pretty good. The session was relatively painless. Thanks, Joanna!

Today I had a sales and marketing (along with head shot) deadline with Arcadia Publishing. It was with great relief and pleasure that I clicked on the “send” button at 4:59 p.m. yesterday. Deadline met!

With that deadline met, I’m one step closer to the August 25 publication of The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Only 38 days, but who’s counting?

Notice for anyone wanting to order any of my three Rocky River Presbyterian Church history booklets: My costs have gone up dramatically since I set the prices listed on my website. Those prices include shipping, so I am now losing money on photocopying, binding, and shipping. Stay tuned for some necessary price increases. I hate to do it, but I can’t afford to lose money on every sale. In the mean time, if you wish to order one of those books, please contact me at Janet@JanetMorrisonBooks.com for pricing information. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Amy Clipston at Friends of the Harrisburg Library

Last night I had the privilege of hearing author Amy Clipston speak. She was the guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Friends of the Harrisburg (NC) Library.

Amy has written numerous Amish fiction books and YA books. I eagerly await the release of A Mother’s Secret, the sequel to A Hopeful Heart. These books are in her Heart of the Lancaster Grand Hotel Series.

Amy has also written The Gift of Love, about the journey she and her husband took through organ donation. I am at the top of the waiting list for it at the library.

Check out Amy’s website to learn more about her and her books. And if you aren’t a member of a local Friends of the Library organization, inquire about it at your public library.

I just realized I haven’t blogged in more than a month. Time flies when you’re looking after a very sick dog and dealing with 10.5 inches of snow… and life. My vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, is in the hands of the line editor at Arcadia Publishing. I’m waiting to hear what the line editor thinks of my writing. While I wait, I continue to sew and make various items to try to sell in my online craft shop on Etsy.com and I am doing the research in order to write postcard captions in case I get to do a second book for Arcadia of vintage postcards from the Piedmont section of North Carolina.

I have selected a literary agency to send a query letter to about The Spanish Coin. When I get the letter polished and we get our e-mail problems under control, I will take a deep breath and send it off.

Since my last post, I have read The Parting, by Beverly Lewis; Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail, by Louise Shivers; and The Angel of Bastogne, by Gilbert Morris. I’m currently reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It is riveting! I finally had to put it down at 4:00 this morning. Great book!

Did “fewer” get sucked into a black hole?

With the general election over, TV stations have returned to airing commercials for car dealerships and personal hygiene products. Most people welcome this after being subjected to non-stop political mud-slinging for weeks. It hasn’t been easy living in a “battleground” state.

I am glad for a respite from the political ads, but the reintroduction of the usual commercials brings one of my pet peeves back to the surface. Perhaps this stems from the fact that my mother was an English teacher. Maybe I am too sensitive about the misuse of the English language.

I have come to the conclusion this year that the word “fewer” was hijacked from the English language while I wasn’t looking. The use of mouthwash no longer results in fewer germs; it results in less germs. The regular use of toothpaste no longer results in fewer cavities; it results in less cavities. I cringe at these commercials.

Another sore point with me was highlighted last night when I took an online survey about a product that a company is considering offering. I wanted to run out of the room screaming when one of the questions asked me to rate the product as “extremely unique,” “very unique,” “somewhat unique,” “slightly unique,” or “not at all unique.” Something is either unique or not unique; there are not varying degrees of uniqueness.

And don’t get me started on the misuse of “lie” and “lay.” One lies down. One lays something down.

Before I come across as superior to others when it comes to speaking or writing, I admit that I make many mistakes. The words “effect” and “affect” always trip me up. If I don’t have a dictionary handy when I want to write either of those words, I simply substitute another word. Punctuation is my weakest link, and I strive to improve. It is my nature to see the speck in another person’s eye while I overlook the log in my own.

I just hope I never say, “most unique,” “less cavities,” or tell my dog to “lay down.” (Oh no. Does that period go before or after the quotation mark? I just looked up the rule and was reminded that in America we put the period inside the quotation marks, but the British place it outside the quotation marks when the period is not part of the quote.)

What I’m reading

My reading interests run the gamut from suspense to historical fiction to nonfiction. I almost always have more than one book that I’m reading all the time. My current books are Bones to Ashes, by Kathy Reichs, and Half the Sky, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

Half the Sky is not easy to read. I find myself re-reading some sentences or paragraphs because the information is so difficult to take in.

I highly recommend Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide to everyone. Be prepared to be shocked and challenged.

Another book I recommend is The Dry Grass of August, by A.J. Mayhew. She is speaking at Rocky River Presbyterian Church tomorrow night to the Rocky River Readers Book Club at 7 p.m. The public is invited. If you live near Harrisburg/Concord, please come out. It’s not often that we have the opportunity to hear a published author speak and address our questions.

Getting back to research

For those of you who follow my local history column in Harrisburg Horizons newspaper every other week, my article was omitted last Sunday. It should be in the paper on October 7.

I neglected research for my local history column for a few weeks while I spent time making items to sell on Saturday, October 6 at the Harvest Fest at Harrisburg United Methodist Church. This is my first craft fair, so I’m eager to see how it goes. Variety is the spice of life, so I have enjoyed this recent diversion.

Monday will find me concentrating on my local history research and putting my fingers to the keyboard. Reading microfilmed records is tedious but full of surprises. I must psyche myself up to do more of that this winter.

Writing the newspaper column since May of 2006 has been a blessing to me, and I’m thrilled when people tell me how much they enjoy and look forward to my articles. I have enjoyed writing my “Did You Know?” column more than any other job I’ve ever had.

I plan to start blogging a couple of times a week to let you know what I’m working on and what I’m reading. Stay tuned.

A Time for Reflection

Late September is always a time for reflection for me. If my mother were alive, we would celebrate her 100th birthday on Sunday. Ironically, this weekend is also the 35th “anniversary” of my father’s death.

It was not until Daddy’s death that I really gained an appreciation for my family’s history. Genealogy has become an on-again, off-again lifelong hobby. It is rewarding and frustrating. It is never finished, so it is an interest one can enjoy at any age.

As I remember my wonderful parents this weekend, I will again realize how fortunate I was to have them. They shaped my life and my thinking in so many ways and gave me a happy and secure childhood. It is only with age that I have become aware that many children do not have that kind of experience.

I am truly blessed!

Learning to Quilt, too?

Learning to play the mountain dulcimer at the age 57 apparently wasn’t enough of a challenge for me. Or perhaps I’m having a midlife crisis. For whatever reason, this seemed like the right time in my life to do some of the things I’ve always wanted to do.

My new endeavor is quilting. I’ve joined a small quilters group in my community.  We meet monthly. Individually and collectively they have welcomed me with open arms and much encouragement.

I literally had to blow the dust off the old Singer sewing machine. It’s one of those old “thread-it-yourself” models from the 1960s. It took a while for the machine and me to get reacquainted. Thread tension is still a bit of an issue, but I’m confident that the end result will be something of which I can be proud.  Project #1:  a sample quilt made up of a dozen 12-inch square blocks, each block a different quilt pattern.

With Block #1: Roman Square successfully completed, this week I will tackle Block #2: Log Cabin. It is fun to see the various fabrics I purchased for my quilt coming together in blocks. I had not sewn since the early 1980s and had forgotten how exciting it can be to shop for fabrics.

My assignment before the February quilting group’s (Friendship Quilters) meeting is to sew sash pieces of fabric between quilt blocks sewn earlier by other members of the group. With some luck, this piece will turn out to be a table runner to be sold at our sponsoring church’s fall bazaar. Imagine something I helped sew being sold at a bazaar!

My blog continues to be all over the map when it comes to topics. It started out to be a way for me to put out the word about my writing. Life is too short and precious to be lived enjoying only one thing, though. I continue to write a local history column for Harrisburg (NC) Horizons newspaper every other week, but playing the mountain dulcimer and sewing also beg for my time and attention. It is said that a writer writes because he or she has to. I feel the same way about playing the dulcimer. If a day passes and I don’t play this beautiful Appalachian mountain instrument, I feel cheated and my day is incomplete. I play for my own enjoyment. It is one of the most relaxing hobbies I’ve ever had.

I wish for you the same desire to learn new things. Writing, music, and sewing continue to bring new friends and pleasures into my life.

What have you always wanted to do that you have never pursued?