Testing, testing...a new method, a new cover, and a new book
Testing, testing….the other day I spent several hours writing a blog post only to have lost it when I hit the Preview button. In fact, it disappeared without a trace, and frankly, I was extremely upset. Now, admittedly, I could have composed it offline instead of composing it on the site itself. However, my usual pattern is to compose at the keyboard (read: online) knowing what I intend to blog about (which is why I sometimes get off topic and digress). Before submitting it, I then read, edit, correct, re-read, edit, and correct again until I am satisfied even with my digressions.
The few times that I have composed on Word and uploaded it, I ended up trying to get rid of the extraneous formatting of letters and numbers associated with the file. Despite this, I am trying something new that was suggested to me. Thus, this is a test blog that says virtually nothing of substance.
Amend that, it does have some relevance to promoting writing and writers as I am the publicist for Drinian Press, LLC. One novel that Drinian Press publishes, McGowan’s Retreat by Rob Smith, has a new, updated cover. Please check it out and let me know what you think. Further, Rob Smith also has a new novel out, Sand Dollar Island. As the back cover of the novel says:
Not since The Little Prince have adult readers been so strongly invited to set aside reason to take a journey of the heart.
A nearly fatal car collision on a country road lands Jeff in a surgical suite clinging to life. His wife, Samantha, is there when he recovers consciousness, but he has another story to tell. The accident has apparently opened a portal to another world, a place where his physical injuries are simply a vague recollection of a different reality. The medical staff attributes his tale to brain injury, but he knows otherwise. How can he seriously convey his adventures in a place where talking animals are the guardians of humans? Jeff trusts his senses even when they draw him deeper into a dimension where he becomes a player in a game of nonsense.
Illustrated with sketches of a parallel universe, Sand Dollar Island’s impossible adventure takes perceptive travelers on a quest for meaning.
(Okay, based on this experiment, the test was a success. Now to re-write the other one.)
About Nancy
A pharmacist by profession, a haiku poet by nature, I read and write. I have a book of haiku, Ohayo haiku, am working on another somewhat alternative haiku book, but write other genres. I also read...lots of novels! My favorite is, and...
Connections
Causes Nancy Smith Supports
Doctors without Borders
American Diabetes Association
The book sounds interesting,
The book sounds interesting, but I am more intrigued by the new method of composing your blog without losing it. Please share...
I compose on a site that auto saves every 60 seconds. I have not lost one since changing to this site, but maybe it trust it too much?
Annette
Annette, Here was the
Annette,
Here was the suggestion from my sister-in-law. Write it in Word, copy the document to Notepad which doesn't have the extraneous formatting symbols, then copy that document copy (are you copying me?) to Red Room. This worked for me even though it seems silly. There may be an easier way. but if so, I am not aware of it. Actually, though, I never had an issue with losing a blog post before unless I purposely changed my mind. This was a first, but it was frustrating as I had fussed over it for so long.
Anyhow, I'll compose it again tomorrow. "Fiddle dee dee, tomorrow is another day." ~nan
Red Book frustration...
Nancy,
I share your frustration with this site. I seem to be constantly uneasy when I try to comment on your postings, and often get it wrong...as witness the meany times I've had my comments double-posted. I'm ready to concede to being a Red Book moron. Just getting logged in and finding this blog posting again, to add this comment, took far longer than I'd choose to admit of ever be comfortable with.
As to sand Dollar Island... Tell me more. Being "strongly invited to set reason aside to take a journey of the heart," doesn't excite my imagination. All I can think is, 'what would Shrader Marks say?' You know my incorrigle proclivities for reason.
Looking forward to reading the bonefide blog posting once you've managed to wrestle it into submission.
George
George, You are not a Red
George,
You are not a Red Room moron. It just takes time to learn the site. I just have been on here long enough that even updated versions of the site only throw me a curve ball for a day or so. First off, I bookmarked this site so that I can find it easily. Then I always hit the Me section (while I am egotistical, I do that so I can look at my statistics here; it is not just an ego thing...well, it is, but it isn't) so that I can see my statistics and add a blog, etc. to my page. To check for blogs here, I choose the Blog tab and choose an option (usually Latest blogs) and then scroll through a page or two of both author and member blog posts, picking out one or two to read either based on an intriguing title or the person himself/herself (because I read those blogs of the people I tend to follow). The other choice is to look under the Member tab, but I rarely do that myself. For what it is worth...
As for Rob's Sand Dollar Island, the short novel (which is on another Goodreads giveaway right now) is a fantasy, but it is for adults. Like The Little Prince it has drawings of some of the events in the book. Rob actually drew the illustrations himself. The protagonist (Jeff) goes back and forth between an island with talking animals and a hospital room in which he is recovering from a brain injury caused by a head-on car crash. It is rather out there, but has some moments of poignancy and thoughtfulness, too. It is nothing like Shrader Marks although Royce would probably like the story even though the themes are such that despite the fact there are drawings, it is not for kids at all. I don't think most children would understand it; perhaps some teens would, and I suspect that some adults would find it too weighty in some aspects and not weighty enough in other aspects. Rob was trying a different genre when he wrote this one, and I think even he was surprised by the results. Per usual, there are some "teaching moments" (disguised within the story) that come out of his life experiences, but whether people ever realize that is what they are and learn from them, well, who's to say.
On the other hand, Shrader Marks (and his son Royce) are some of my favorite characters, period. I just like them. On the other hand, a few people who read both books still want more. They aren't satisfied enough with the ending; they want more of Shrader Marks and crew. Like what was going on in the five year interval, etc.
As for the real blog post, I'll probably put it up tomorrow. Nancy
Lost Forever
Nancy,
I understand that if one is using a wireless connection that has a momentary disconnect or signal lapse at the exact time the sent button is pushed, the message disappears unretrievably into the ether. Whatever the explanation, I have been similarly frustrated, especially when using hotel wireless networks, and have, on occasion, taken the laborious precaution of first making a handwritten copy before pressing "Send" if I lack confidence in the wireless network.
Brenden, I should do that,
Brenden,
I should do that, but I tend not to be that disciplined. Unlike most writers, I am far from disciplined. Plots tend to stay in my brain rather than make it on paper. I suppose that is one of the reasons I enjoy blog posting. I am disciplined enough to manage writing them. However, to be perfectly truthful, sometimes I take a day or two to actually get the words on the page (or blog as the case may be).
I still don't know what happened to the last one. I don't think I had an Internet connection glitch, but then who knows. Maybe I did and it was just at that moment. I only know that it was gone in an instant, not to be retrieved. I will rewrite it, offline, and upload it as I did this one. It might even be better that the original. I can only hope. I have used your method a time or two. Writing it down first, then retyping it in. It seems redundant, but obviously, it works for you. Thanks for the suggestion. ~nan
Me, too...
Nancy,
Add me to the list of those who would like more of Shrqder Marks and crew. And to the list of those who will also read Sand Dollar Island to search for those 'teachable moments'. Every writer's a moralist.
George