Happy New Year!

I hope everyone
has a safe and Happy New Year!

Ten Christmas's

Ten Christmas's

Ten Christmas's from now
you won't remember how many lights you put up,
how many cards you got back,
or how many parties you were invited to.
It won't matter if it snowed on Christmas Eve,
or if anyone came late for Christmas dinner.
No one will recall how much time and money you spent shopping,
or how nicely you wrapped the gifts.
It won't be important anymore that your house
wasn't always neat and tidy
when company stopped by to visit.
Ten Christmas's from now
you'll only remember baking cookies with the kids, drinking hot chocolate after Christmas Mass,
and stealing kisses under the mistletoe
with the one you love.
You'll still remember visiting old friends, reading Christmas Stories to the children,
and calling your grandmother to tell her how much you loved the afghan she crocheted for you.
When you close your eyes ten Christmas's from now
you'll still be smiling when you remember the looks on their faces when your children woke up
on Christmas morning and discovered that Santa had eaten all the cookies they left out for him.
Ten Christmas's from now the only memories you'll cherish will be the ones you hold in your heart.
The smiles, the laughter, the joy, the singing,
and the hugs.

Christmas is love. Fill your heart with it.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas,
and a Happy New Year!

I pray that God watches over you and your family
as we enter 2010

That you have joyful days
and beautiful relationships

That you enjoy laughter, song, beauty,
prosperity, peace, kindness and hope.

I pray our servicemen/women come home safe
And that their families can bear the pain of separation



I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain
so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye.

Learning The Ropes

I just learned that if you want to use the name of a celebrity in your book, you can do it without permission. As long as you don't say something libelous. Bing Crosy, Kate Hepburn and Spency tracey have nothing to fear.

I do need permission to make a reference to 'Desperate Housewives'. They don't have an E-mail address, so I'll have to ask via snail mail. I was surprised to learn they are owned by Disney. I can't picture the cast of 'Desperate Housewives' being there with Mickey Mouse.

I'm still waiting to hear from 'Le Jules Verne Restaurant' and 'Caribbean Cruise Lines'. They don't seem eager to write back to me. The restaurant people may not speak English though, so I'll have to give them a little slack.

I am planning to make my own book trailer. Amazing the things you can do at home these days. I'd like to take a very dramatic picture of my heroine (played by my daughter, of course) leaning over a casket, holding a rose. It will depict Kate's immense sorrow over her husband's tragic death. Of course, I don't know anyone who happens to have a casket lying around. I'll have to see if I can convince a local funeral director to let me take a picture in his place of business. I deal with many funeral homes where I work, so I'll give it a try. I'm sure they will think I'm demented. I just hope they don't call the police!

On The Road To Fame & Fortune!

Here I am on the road to Fame & Fortune.

Re-Cap:

1) Wrote a novel titled 'Passing Whispers'. Check.
2) Sent it out to many, many publishing houses. Check.
3) Ate lots of chocolate to console myself when it was rejected. Check.
4) Got an E-mail from Devine Destines, informing me that they were interested in reading more than the first three chapters I had submitted. Check.
5) Devine Destinies suggested a few changes. I purchased an On-Line Editing Program to help me. Good grief. My sentences were too long, I ended many of them with prepositions, and I used WAY too many exclamation points! Took almost three months to correct my mistakes. Check.
6) Sent manuscript back in to Devine Destinies. They gave me a contract. I did the Happy Dance, and notified every living relative, friend, neighbor and creature in my life. Check.
7) I signed the contract and sent it back in. Check.
8) I applied for a copyright. It will take 9 months to get one. Check.
9) I sent requests to Carribbean Cruise Lines, Desperate Housewives, and Le Jules Verne Restaurant to allow me to mention their names in my book. Check.
10) I set up a Pay Pal Account (at the suggestion of my editor) in the event that the book sells. Check.
11) I updated my Blog so I could talk about the book (again, at the suggestion of my editor... WOW. "MY EDITOR". I don't think that will ever get old!) Check.
12) I completed the Cover Art Form and Author Information Form, and sent it back to my editor (sorry, I just love saying that). Check.
13) I started writing a screen play and discovered that I know absolutely nothing about writing screen plays. I purchased an On-Line Program to help me. Check.
14) I updated my Web Page to tell all my faithful Readers the good news. Check.

Now what?

I wish there was an On-Line Program for fame and fortune!

This Is It! At least I hope it is!

It's not too often that you get to witness
your own life altering events. I did.
I was opening E-mails, and deleting most of them.

Suddenly... there it was.

The response from Devine Destinies.
They are a publishing house I was waiting to hear from
in regards to my manuscript novel. My heart immediately started to pound.
With trembling fingers, I opened it.
I peeked quickly,
just hoping for a general glimpse,
without actually reading it.
I was preparing for yet another rejection notice.
I took a deep breath.

Oh My God. Did it say what I thought it said?


YES!

I got a book contact!

It will be released as an E-Book
sometime in the next 12 months.

If it sells 200 copies in the first 60 days,
it will be printed as a paper-back.

I've waited so long for this day.

There was blood.
I can't tell you how many paper-cuts
I have gotten over the past three years.

There was sweat.
I wrote a lot of it during the summer.

And there were tears.
My computer crashed and I lost the entire manuscript.
No. I didn't have an extra copy saved
on a different computer.
But luckily, God was on my side,
and a good friend retrieved it for me.

I'm not sure where it will lead,
but I'm finally on my way!

My thanks to God,
Jay Austin from Divine Destinies,
my children,
and my special friend, Brian Morris.

Couldn't have done it without you!

Wish me luck!
Oh!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bogie: Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine and writes that blasted book!

Ingrid: What if they make a movie out of it? Casablanca could be... replaced!

Bogie: Lisa has to do it, and we can't be any part of it. I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now... Here's looking at you kid

Good-Bye

On October 21, 2003 I wrote my very first Journal entry.  Almost five years to the day.

Like many other AOL members I shared a lot of my personal life with the world.  Reading other people's Journals brought me enjoyment, laughter and sometimes, tears. 

I'm happy to say that I've made many good Internet friends.  I cried while watching one member lose her fight with cancer.  Worried about a few Journalists who left without apparent reason, never to return again.  Kept my fingers crossed while one member got divorced and tried his best to be a good father to his kids.  I've prayed for one writer who sadly described her sister's slow decline into Alzheimer's Disease.  Held my breath as another divorced her husband, packed up her bags and moved to L.A. to start a new life.  I remain hopeful that one friend will finally find Mr. Right, and that she'll stay safe while she searches for him.

I've shared stories with new mothers, abused women and recovering drug addicts. Sat back in amazement at the profound wisdom of a certain sensitive friend from Florida.  Watched people fall in and out of love.  Enjoyed looking at pictures of their trips to fabulous, exotic places.  I've laughed at the antics of other people's children and shared my own stories.  The birth of my grandchildren, the purchase of my house, my menopausal misadventures and my On-Line Dating Site experiences. 

Now, AOL has decided to put an end to the On-Line Journals, to "concentrate on more popular interests".  If our Journals weren't "popular" then why did they decide to use our entries to pimp out unwanted advertisements?  Once again, it was without our permission or even opinion on the matter.

Oh, they've given us "helpful advice" on how to transfer out work onto other sites, but speaking for myself, I haven't been successful as yet.

All things considered, I've had quite a good experience writing my On-Line Journal, except for one hurtful episode.  Like life itself, our community has been through good times and bad.  Scandals and legends.  At least we'll always have the memories.

Today, on October 5, 2008, all I can say... is good-bye.  Good luck to all of the Journalists who have graciously invited us into their lives and shared their experiences with us... total strangers. 

And thank you.  For the laughs, the pleasure of getting to know you, and for taking the time to get to know me.  I'll always be grateful for the encouragement you have given to me through your comments and even occasional E-mails.

Thanks, guys.  I'll never forget any of you.