What Writers Take for Granted

We've been having trouble with our phone. When I answered a call, I heard either buzzing bees or crashing waves on the ocean. Not really. But you get the idea. I'd have to yell to be heard, which irritated me and whoever the unlucky recipient was.

This morning they came to fix the problem. Something in the lines. He had to unhook our phone line which meant, yes, you know what's coming, no Internet either. I suddenly realized all the things I couldn't do without the Internet. E-mails, checking websites I'd recently posted on, and looking up a fact for the novel I'm working on, all gone by the wayside. So were paying bills, keeping up with a couple of chat rooms I'm a part of, and did I mention e-mail?! I see that I did, but good grief, I never realized how much I used it until it was gone. E-mail and the Internet encompass such a wide range of what we as writers do. Sending a query? Internet. Waiting for a response to your latest novel submission? Internet. Wondering if someone from your writers' group can answer your newbie marketing question? Internet.

It makes me appreciate all the more what writers went through before there was an online presence for anyone who wanted one.

Ah....But as you now can see, I'm back. Even this simple post is made possible by our wonderful, often taken for granted friend, the Internet.

And for the phone guy who made this possible? I don't know your name, but thanks!

Who Knew A Mouse's Tail Could Do All That?

Every year about this time, I participate in the Christmas Village, an arts and handmade crafts fair. Well, this weekend was it. I sold several of my painted animal rocks. I also sold several copies of "My Life in Mental Chains." Along with this good news came a humorous surprise. I'd put my animal rocks on one side of the table and my book display on the opposite end. I had a few mouse rocks left over, so I sat them next to the sign that advertised the price of my books. These gray painted mice all have thin ribbon "tails" glued on to their hind quarters. While I watched people perusing my wares, one woman pointed to the mice and said to her friend, "Oh look, bookmarks!"

I started to correct her, but quickly closed my lips. Wait a minute. Did she say "bookmarks"? I mulled that one over a little. Why not? Who's to say they couldn't be? Who's to say those little painted mice with the gluey-butt tails couldn't do more than one job at a time? Before I could think about it further, another woman came up to check out the animals. "Look, bookmarks. You put their tails between the pages of  your book." I sat back in my chair and simply smiled. So it wasn't just one person's observation. What really got me was, why hadn't I ever thought of it before? I had randomly put them next to my books and several people noticed. If I'd left the little mice on their assigned end of the table, would anyone have thought they were more than just table decorations?

I took a ten minute break from my table and took a walk outside. I had an epiphany. When I got back inside, I placed a small note next to the mice in front of the books."Free Bookmark With Purchase of Book."
I'm now out of mice. But guess what? My new marketing strategy is born!