For those of you who don’t want to participate in political discussions, or are such special snowflakes that you might melt in the face of strong opinion, this may be the week for you to head over to the Huffington Post and Salon. This will not be a venue you wish to frequent. I’ll be sorry to see you go, hope you’ll be back on the tenth of November, but probably won’t lose a lot of sleep over it if you label me and delete the bookmark from your browser. (On Netscape, which I suspect you’re still using if you’re taking that path, the control you’re looking for is on the upper right.)
So, fair warning: it’s pretty political from here on in until the election is over. I’ll put the rest below the fold.
I’ll be busy Saturday. Twin Cities fans, please come and see me, and a whole bunch of other authors at The Fall Harvest Book Harvest on October 29th. Yes, books and the people who write them.
It’s a great chance to get books for all those bibliophiles you have on your list. Best of all, it’s all Christian literature – no cursing, largely safe for even the most mild-mannered person you tiptoe around on a regular basis.
I will have discounts available if you buy a couple of copies, or if you’ve purchased books from a few of the other authors at the event. Cross-promotion, dontcha know.
Please come out and meet the authors. Bring cash and credit cards. (I don’t take checks.) and I’ll even pose for bad selfies with you if’n that’s your thing.
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Assault on Saint Agnes is now available. Just click this link to find all the options! (I recommend the autographed copy. It’s cheaper than from the big stores, I scribble in it, and you get it mailed within 5 days. We all win.
When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.
The slump is over for the most part. Last week I wrote about the struggle to learn my new role at work. Today I have good news. God’s message through my Bible Studies teacher was right on the money, and I’m feeling like I have wings.
We call it “driving” when you’re in training and put out in the real production world to do your job. Mind you, you have a senior person who sits and listens in as you talk to people. They kibitz and point at the screen and tell you what needs doing. But at some point they kick back and let you drive – hopefully not over the cliff.
The cliff is there. If you get itchy fingers on the keyboard you can cause loads of trouble. The kind that makes the news. But if you exercise caution it’s productive stuff. Suddenly, all the bits and pieces, screens that had flashed by, the handouts and lectures, the whole schmere, begins to fall into place like giant blocks in a bad game of LSD infused Tetris.
Tuesday I handled a bunch of stuff. Needed some help, but actually had a clue on much of it. Even knew some shortcuts that were logical given the situation – my instructor was surprised. Yeah, Baby!
But I know that won’t last forever. There’s a slick corner ahead. I will hit a wall and scrape some paint off the car.
Today, however, I got to race around the track with the engine floored.
Today was a good day.
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Assault on Saint Agnes is now available. Just click this link to find all the options! (I recommend the autographed copy. It’s cheaper than from the big stores, I scribble in it, and you get it mailed within 5 days. We all win.
When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.
But I do have another hand grenade for you today. Let me tell you a story.
First, I had a flaming-hot blog about the debate planned. Wrote a good deal of it before I published the last one. Planned on upgrading the content based on the debate. Yeah. God intervened and that blog post will come along later. I’m writing this while someone is shrilly snarking away in Las Vegas.
Back to the new post.
It’s been a rough two weeks. I’m taking a course that is new material to me. I’ve dabbled around the edges before, been schooled on it over 15 years ago in an academic setting, but never had to apply it at the nuts-and-bolts level. Consequently, I’ve got the dunce cap on every day. I put it there myself. More self-doubt and loathing than anyone should experience has been my lot. Consequently, I’ve been struggling with a number of things in life including book sales. The last book fair was okay, covered the cost of the booth. But add that to the class, and life has been kind of grim.
Wednesday’s plan was to go home, study like a maniac to catch up, and watch the debate. I was going to blow off Bible study (yeah, still sounds strange to me that I attend that event…) and try to gather some strength. That all changed on the bus home.
I got on the bus with my ginormous backpack and walking staff and looked around for a seat. Towards the front of the bus a small woman beamed a smile at me and waved me to the seat she was vacating as she slid over to the one against the window. I thanked her and sat down.
It became clear to me in an instant that God had given her a different set of skills and gifts than he’d put in my bucket. I don’t know if she had a substance issue, or a medical impairment, but she had some problems with speech and focus. But she had a glow inside: a spark of spirit that most of us have lost or buried.
We talked for a few moments, she described her journey that day. It started out sleeping cold in someone’s basement, and would include a visit to the homeless shelter for dinner before she headed back to that unheated basement. It was then that she reached out and touched my beard, running her fingers through it like the small kids I meet as Santa.
She realized she’d breached a boundary. I just smiled and told her the story of the Haitian kids who plucked me like a chicken and kept the beard hairs as souvenirs. She was amazed by that, and wondered if they still had them. Indeed.
The next few minutes passed talking about where she’d sleep, the coming winter, and all the rest. I helped her spot the stop she wanted. Pulling the cord, she stood up and headed to the door.
Stopping short of the door, she turned and asked my name. I told her and said, “God Bless.” She told me her name and blessed me in return.
That lifted me. I had some honest joy with that episode, and I decided that no matter what my troubles were I wasn’t going to turn my back on God.
Two hours later I was at Bible study and our teacher talked about John 15. One of the tenets was how God has blessed us with gifts of intellect among the fruits we have. I’d lucked out in the brains department, and while it had been a rough two weeks, Reverend Daniels’ words hit me like a thunderbolt: “God says, “I’ve given you exactly what you need. Fair or not, it’s the gift you have and I want you to be fruitful with it.” I felt better than in weeks.
Wow. I had a gift. A gift of learning. A blessing that many don’t have. A gift I’d forgotten when I marked myself stupid. I’d also made a new friend on the bus, and gained some perspective.
Thursday morning it is supposed to be around 36 degrees when I put that same pack on my back and head off before dawn to walk to work. A lot of people are out sleeping rough tonight. I’m taking some of that fruit God has given me and taking it along with me. There was a down comforter in my room that I was not using. I actually have some spare blankets. So that comforter, wrapped around a couple of McDonald’s gift cards, is already snugged to the bottom of my pack. There’s a random assortment of street people that I see all the time on that walk. One of them gets the comforter and the hidden surprise. Hopefully it’s one of the guys I see when I cook for the homeless. He’s a good dude.
Thursday, I head back to class with a new attitude. I’ll be just fine: God will see to it. I’ll eat regular meals, take a hot shower, and sleep in a warm bed.
That’s blessed. That’s God’s love. Thursday I get to spread some of it around.
How about you?
Come back next week for some grenades and other blathering.
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Assault on Saint Agnes is now available. Just click this link to find all the options! (I recommend the autographed copy. It’s cheaper than from the big stores, I scribble in it, and you get it mailed within 5 days. We all win.
When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.
I was at the Rain Taxi Book Festival this past weekend. Talked to a lot of book lovers, but it seemed quite a few of them were not thriller types. Nope, they love historicals.
I attended this event last year as a reader. This year I’ll have a table as a writer. I can’t say nobody warned me that I’d have to work for those sales, but I never imagined just how hard that would be some days. This event, thankfully, is just three hours long.
I did a fair amount of Christmas shopping at the last one. It’s a great chance to get books for all those bibliophiles you have on your list. Best of all, it’s all Christian literature – no cursing, largely safe for even the most mild-mannered person you tiptoe around on a regular basis.
I will have discounts available if you buy a couple of copies, or if you’ve purchased books from a few of the other authors at the event. Cross-promotion, dontcha know.
I just noticed that I’ve got that disease that infects people in the public arena: every single paragraph but one starts out with the first person ….
You (there, I fixed it) should come out and meet the authors. Bring cash and credit cards. (I don’t take checks.) and I’ll even pose for bad selfies with you if’n that’s your thang.
Thursday I will throw some hand-grenades right here. So buckle on the Kevlar and come back then.
********* ********** *********** ***********
Assault on Saint Agnes is now available. Just click this link to find all the options! (I recommend the autographed copy. It’s cheaper than from the big stores, I scribble in it, and you get it mailed within 5 days. We all win.
When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.
