August 11 – A Great Day to Be Born

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal

My grandbaby twins are about to enter the world with a little help from the doctor. They are to be born tomorrow, Monday. They had said Tuesday, but now we’re going a little earlier. Their Mama can’t wait. And their daddy is eager too, not to mention the three big sisters or grandma and pa. I’ll fill you in on how cute they are next week. One thing about grandmas. They always think their grandbabies are cute. I put a Bible verse in the bulletin today from Proverbs 17:6. Children’s children are a crown to the aged. That’s the NIV version. See, grandbabies back when and forever have been treasured and enjoyed. Now I didn’t put that verse in the bulletin because of my babies. We were having baby dedication day for a couple of new boys in our own church. We think babies should be celebrated and parents supported at our church and most churches I’ve visited seem to feel the same way.

The Olympics are going on this week. I love watching, but I’ve been so busy that I’ve not gotten to see much. I have been recording some of it. I’m probably dreaming that I’ll ever take the time to sit down and watch, but maybe I will. I think I’ve just gotten out of the habit of t.v. My husband and I have very different tastes in programming and he really enjoys flipping between shows which drives me up a wall. So I’m better off reading somewhere out of channel flipping range. He’ll lay off the remote when I’m in the room – sometimes. But I can see his thumb fidgeting. It’s hard on him. You see, I don’t mind watching commercials. Some of the commercials are more entertaining than the programs. But he hates them.

I almost made my self-imposed deadline for my current book. I hoped to have it finished before I went to WV. I worked yesterday far into the night, and I did almost, just almost, get to the end. All I need to do is let the characters ride off in the sunset or some other wrap it up scene, something that will satisfy the readers and ME. I’m the one who has to be satisfied first. Maybe a few days away from the computer will help me make that scene even better.

I’ve been hearing from a few readers about The Outsider. Most have been kind. Of course when some person you know says she liked your book, you, the writer, sometimes have to wonder, is she just being polite. I mean we always say a baby is cute no matter what we’re really thinking. (Time out here. I really do think all babies are cute. Really. Even if they aren’t the baby contest winner type cute.) Anyway a writer’s book is his or her baby and people, by and large, are polite. Of course those strangers out there who write reviews for the joy of it are usually more apt to be honest and tell you what they really think about your baby. I’m hoping most of them will like my story okay.

I do appreciate book reviewers. I wrote a couple of reviews for Amazon. It’s not all that easy to do. You want to tell a little about the book and why you liked or didn’t like it. (I liked the ones I wrote about. I wouldn’t do one for a book I didn’t like. I probably wouldn’t finish reading a book I didn’t like. Too many books out there I want to read to spend my limited reading time on one that I’m not enjoying. Do you always finish every book you start? I used to, but no more.) But you can’t give away the story and ruin it for other readers. And all in a couple of paragraphs. So reviewers have my admiration.

I’ve picked the date for my Lawrenceburg book launch for The Outsider. I’m going to be talking about writing my Shaker book at the Anderson County Library on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. If you’re in the area come on down. I’ll be giving away some books and we’ll have a good time.

Hope you have a great week.