Read Across America

In observance of Read Across America, celebrated on March 2nd (Dr. Seuss' Birthday) ~ I provided books for my son's 4th grade class and his previous 3rd grade class. Every child received a copy of Salty Summer, book 1 in the Nautical Mile Series.   

The purpose of the Read Across America initiative is to motivate children to read.  Reading is an important factor in student achievement.  Research has shown that children who are motivated and spend more time reading do better in school.  I think that's true because I can see it in my kids. 

I also wanted to keep my promise to Mrs. Kellum.  Last year, when Salty Summer was in production ~ I promised I would bring a copy in for each student.  Well, Salty Summer took forever to be released and it was well into September before the books were available.  I would spend the next 6 months tweeking books 2 - 4 and ultimately crafted a new ending for Salty Summer, interlocking it with the other books in the series.  In wanting to put my best foot forward, I shared the revised version of Salty Summer with the children.  I do hope the kids enjoy the book.   

Read On!

Snow What?

Just the other day, I was dreaming about Spring with sun streaming in through my windows.  And today, snow is falling like powdered sugar ... dusting everything in soft white flakes.  Who knew?  These are no dainty little white flecks of snow, they are HUGE snowflakes the size of quarters.   

It's actually quite beautiful.  Here's to the unpredictability of Mother Nature!

Frosty Cheers!

Carried by the Current

For those of you reading in far off places, Spring is almost here!  I can't wait to feel the sun's golden rays upon my face.  Typing from my cave of a living room, only a few specks of sunlight drift in and dance like glitter on the table.  To my new readers from the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Pakistan ~ hi!  To my old friends from Russia and France ~ it's another day and I'm glad to be alive.   

I was reviewing the stats from my website and I'm pleased to say that I've had visitors from 13 different countries and 29 states, here in the US.  I am closing in on 4,000 pageviews with an average of 70 new unique visitors per month.  What all this means ... I'm not really sure.  But maybe my message is being carried by the water guardian to the far corners of the earth.  Water, the great traveler, slips in and out with ease.  It washes over us and wipes the slate clean.

Water Traveler, send word that a new Water Child has come, carry it to the very edge of the earth!

Wanting the Best

I see my boys and wonder what future awaits them.  I want the best for them, of course, all parents want the best for their children.  It is interesting to me that Kevin, my oldest, is evaluating his interests in various career paths and has honed in on wanting to be a Marine Biologist.  Can't say I'm surprised.  He loves the water.  He has his diving certification and is interested in exploring the Deep.  This fascination and love of all things water runs deep in all the McCartneys.   

Across the great divide we are all the same - we all want the best for our children. 

For Kevin - Dream BIG Baby!  An ocean of wonders is waiting ...  
Okay, so he wants to be a Marine Biologist or a Pilot (smiling).  Hey~who says you can't FLY through the water? 

A New Beginning

Is there really such a thing?  A fresh start to begin anew ...  Inevitably, it feels that some part of the past influences the future.  Even if we are totally unaware of the smallest shift, it is still there.  And our new beginning, depends greatly on the ingredients already in the soil.

Tend your gardens well ... for you will bare the fruits of your labor.

The Magic of CHANCE!

I once read that Puff, the Magic Dragon was written quite by chance.  One of the authors, Lenny Lipton, has said that he wrote a short poem and laughingly left it on a typewriter for Peter Yarrow ... who added some lyrics and turned it into a song.  The magical realm of Honalee was just that, for Lenny knew nothing of Hanalei Bay or the massive lava cave, large enough for any dragon.  

How is it that a whimsical poem left in jest became forever immortalized as a wonderful children's book?  A book that decades later, I found myself reading to my four year old today.

Isn't it amazing what we unconsciously already know?  Imagine what magic truths we have left to unlock, if we only let ourselves find the key!

Absolute Future

I woke up thinking about the future ... what will it be and when will it get here.  Once it arrives ~ it will no longer be the future, but the present and sadly, in the blink of an eye, it will be the past.

I looked up the definition of future, in my trusty Webster's Dictionary.  It says: The time yet to come.

On Wikipedia the definition is much more grand: The future is the indefinite time period after the present.  Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics.  Due to the nature of reality and the inevitability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist ~ is temporary and will come to an end.  It goes on to say:  In physics, time is considered to be the fourth dimension of the universe.

I guess, I'm dreaming about another dimension.  The fourth dimension!  Careful, everything is starting to make sense!

Feeling Very Weathered and Worn

Just recovering from a bout of the flu.  It left me feeling drained, to say the least.  I don't think I have ever officially had the flu before.  And I don't want it EVER again.  :-P

I've been running ragged for some time now and I think it's high time to make good on that annual New Year's resolution of mine to actually take care of myself.

In the midst of life's mundane drudgery, it's important to remember what life is.  It's the mundane drudgery!

You are free to feel ALIVE!

Returning from a Sea of Edits

As I got my stories ready to be published at Create Space, I found myself editing them ... again.  For the millionth time.  This whole week, I've been lost in a sea of edits.  Literally!  Those tricky commas get me every time.  I recently read that a comma should help add clarity and if doesn't, then ditch it.  That one sentence made SO much sense.  It was like aaahhh!  Okay, not to delude myself.  I still don't get it ... but it seems a little easier. 

Anyway, that's the nice thing about publishing with Create Space ... you can update your book's file at anytime.  If a mistake is brought to my attention, then I can correct it.  If I make a story change, then I can update my book!  Too cool!   

Shedding the Funk

I've been in a foggy funk lately.  I haven't been totally unproductive ... just ignoring my blog.  During this month's retrospective funk, I've been evaluating my options in publishing the Nautical Mile books with Create Space.  I found this process to be much easier than I anticipated and FREE!  I've uploaded the first 4 books and already I am waiting for my proofs to be received in the mail.  Total time from creation to proof ... about 1 week.  Compared to that same process with Tate Publishing ... just over 11 months.

What did Create Space do for me?  Some might ask ...
Well, with their user friendly software I was able to turn my e-books into paperback books.  They offer pre-formatted files to assist the average know nothing user (a/k/a ... me).  So all I had to do was point and click to get my files ready for print.  They also assigned an ISBN number for each book in less than 5 minutes!  Their cover creator software is also pretty cool and I couldn't resist playing with a few newly formatted covers, just for kicks. 

All of that was for FREE!  I'm still in shock.  Considering Tate Publishing (which claims to only publish about 4% of the manuscripts submitted to them) required a $4,000 author investment from me to publish Salty Summer.  Which by the way has a totally new ending, so it interlocks with my other books.  If anyone ever asks why the publishing industry is changing this is definitely one reason why:  Publishing houses of any size gobble up time and money.  If the author has to take control of writing and marketing, then why not publishing and editing?