Tag: #bookcoach

Posted on

I Buy Myself Flowers: Yellow Is the Inspo~

Today my beautiful lady has been filled with what I believe are gerbera daisies. Cost for flowers, about $20 @ Trader Joe’s.

I had gerberas in my wedding bouquet by necessity and not choice. Unfortunately my April wedding came to be about two weeks after the ranunculus were spent and gone. I wanted ranunculus, because they have a wind-blown look. I wanted orange, and my sister had an orange dress. We both had our dresses made by Kevin Simon, who seems to have vaporized since she once had a very pricey store on Abbott Kinney Boulevard. Kevin made everything in linen, and she was a master of sort of vintage-farm looking clothing, like late 1800s. I loved her work and could not afford any of it, so I splurged on my dress and my sister’s, assuming I was only getting married once. A regular skirt at Kevin’s was over $500. My wedding dress and my sister’s MOH dress combined were $1000. The back bottom of my dress had tulle orange flowers pinned to it. My dress was linen with a silk slip, and my sister’s was orange silk. I’ve since lost about 70 pounds, and I left the dress at Goodwill in Delaware when I moved, but I kept all the organza flowers.

In any case, I do have to say I’m not usually a gerbera girl, except when needs must. But today the yellow (which is a lot lighter in real life) on the flowers screamed, “Butter!” at me, with just a hint of orange at their centers, and so I was compelled. Mixed them with orange and some green greenery, et voila!

The little pumpkin/squash you see there I plan to eat, not carve. LOL. Roasted pumpkin in things is divine! As are these lovely gerbera. Ranunculus are actually not great cut flowers, so droopy.

It is a blessing to have flowers anywhere in the world, of any kind, and especially on my very sunny kitchen counter. Buy the flowers, hold them high, and repeat after me, “Here’s to the times we bless others, and also to the times we bless ourselves!”

Have a wonderful week~

PS. Most flowers I buy last a full two weeks! Just keep the water clean and fresh.

Posted on

I Buy Myself Flowers: Orange!

Today my beautiful lady head is holding pincushion protea, safflower, and eucalyptus. When I was younger I was more snooty about flowers: they had to smell, and smell good. None of these really have a smell, although fresh (really fresh) eucalyptus can smell wonderful. Cost for flowers, again about $11 at Trader Joe’s.

I venture to say I’ve almost made it through summer, always a challenge for me as a person who prefers chillier climes. My sister reports that up (up the hill) in Idyllwild where she lives now it has been chilly and stormy… of which I am envious as we’ve had a 90-100 degree heat wave here. It’s been a bit of a year so far, her dealing with a diagnosis of mucosal melanoma, and me dealing with her diagnosis. We’ve done the majority of her doctor’s appointments together, and although I know she sometimes must get sick of me, I really have treasured spending all that time with my baby sis. She was supposed to go visit our handful of a mother, but there were new protocols to try, so that got cancelled. She’s hoping our mother will come to her. I am not holding my breath on that because the mountain usually doesn’t go to Mohammed.

I now present an actual undoctored video of Mama:


Ha!

No, that’s not actually her, but the “everything” about Lucille is pretty close to Mama Pearce. And… if I tease out the comparison… I’m probably Michael in that scenario, who is probably the lamest Bluth. Sorry Michael. I have to tell the truth… on both of us!

As long as I have been a parent I have been worried about my daughter’s summer plans/schedule, because she’s a kid who does better with one than without. She was too old for any camps this year, so we just made a deal: she took an online Driver’s Ed course; she had to make plans with one friend at least once a week, and she did some new and interesting chores around the house in preparation for someday being in charge of her own dorm room or apartment. She mopped, and organized, and did all sorts of things she doesn’t have a lot of time for when school is in session, because her program has days that run from 8-5, but can go as late as 9. She’s joined a teen program at Pasadena Playhouse for the fall, where she’ll begin to get a little real-world backstage experience. And she passed the driver’s ed course. We’re waiting for the necessary pink slip to arrive in the mail, which will allow her to take the permit test (it is a rule in California that they have the pink slip before they take the permit test.).

Anyway, it’s been a busy few months, and I’m glad school has begin again, and the patterns are falling back into place that alleviate some of the the pressure. Is there a mom out there in a hetero relationship whose partner takes on the responsibility for the kid(s) over the summer?

🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗

Are those… crickets?

Yeah, I didn’t think so.

When life comes in waves of responsibility and busyness, you STILL have to manage to get to the ever more expensive grocery store (wait, I thought he was lowering the prices on day 1…. Good thing none of us held our breath), so skip a few of the overpriced boxes of cereal, or other overpriced things, and make sure you use ten bucks or so to buy yourself flowers!

These flowers I love because… orange, and green, the two best colors ever.

Posted on

I Buy Myself Flowers: Iris!

Today my beautiful lady head is holding iris and Veronica. I once saw neighbors rip up an enitre patch of iris and throw them away I asked if I could have them, but they said no because they didn’t like them, so they didn’t want to see them anywhere. Can you imagine? They put in something foul, like geraniums. When I return from the temporary status as renter back to home owner, iris are absolutely in the plan. Veronica I wasn’t aware of until this year, which is painful to admit. They are absolutely brilliant flowers, long lasting, straight and tall with sometimes a graceful curve to them. They’re a real eye-catcher. A friend once took a plant pot filling class, and was told that if you plant a pot you should have a filler, and spiller, and a thriller. Veronica is the thriller. Cost for flowers, about $11 at Trader Joe’s.
Also pictured… future Chex mix!

Posted on

I Buy Myself Flowers: Pride Flowers

Back when Target was still DEI-cool, I bought myself this head planter. I never quite had the right plant to put in it though, and I decided to use it as a vase instead. I especially like the way the flowers come out the the head and look almost like hair, or a fancy hat.

I buy myself flowers. All the time. I buy them at least twice a month, depending on how long they last. I admit to really loving them and not wanting to throw them away or compost them until they’re really spent. Today I went into my local Vons (I usually get pretty and inexpensive flowers from Trader Joe’s, but they had nothing interesting a few days ago when I stopped in for half and half.), and found these cool tie-dyed roses. I thought they were perfect for celebrating Pride. I’m straight and cis, and a very much in support of Pride, and trans rights, and gay marriage, and all that good stuff. And I love flowers, and fun, colorful, or heavily-scented , off-beat, exotic, just about any kind. (Except geraniums, but that’s a post for another day!)

I just thought these were so pretty and uplifting.

My mother has always considered flowers a waste of money, which seems too sad to me. This bunch of roses and the yellow “filler” cost me ten dollars. That means I’m spending around about 20 bucks a month for a little hit of joy every time I walk into my perpetually untidy kitchen.

Get yourself some flowers and enjoy the color. This is your one life: make it beautiful. Don’t wait for someone else to do it.

And go Miley!

Posted on

Clothes: Today’s Outfit (Actually AWC’s Outfit)

I have been taking photos of myself in clothes (lucky for us all! Not naked!) because I love clothes, and I figured I could be brave enough to share that side of myself which you would not know unless you knew me in person.

I also snap a lot of photos of pets, flowers, and, when she lets me, my kid, so the phone gets pretty full. I finally got around to downloading a bunch, and here, for my second (?) clothes post is what I wore back in March to the Atlanta Writer’s conference. It’s a Lucy and Yak Ragan, and my, what are they? Snake? Leopard? I think snake, boots. and some sory of cropped black sweater.

Having been a fat woman for most of my adult life, I often go black in professional situations because it feels safer, cleaner, slimmer. This L&Y Ragan is a USA size 10, as an FYI, so I think I’m down in average size for that, not plus, but I still see me as large, too large, and probably always will.

It was a wonderful day, though, as I had someone come sit at my table with me:

The fantastic Emilie Khair.

The moment I met Emilie I was in big-time girl love. LOL. Emilie and I are in the same age range, and that’s all anyone needs to know abut that, and she is a person who, the moment we saw each other in person, I felt like I’d known forever. So, even though we’d worked together for many months, to meet her and just hang out was so much fun. Honestly, and I know this is going to sound really dorky to say, but when I work on a book with an author I get really attached to the book, well, because usually I had to likethe book a lot to begin with to want t publish it, and then, because I am a gigantic super-nerd, I am very very excited when I get to meet the author in person. I didn’t ask Emilie for her autograph on her book, but I wanted to. I was really sorry to leave Atlanta. I wished I could have hung out the rest of the week with Emilie. Does anyone else out there feel like there’s never enough time for connection and just fun? Back on the plane, and, that week, home to a huge amount of chaos as an exchange student had come while I was in Atlanta, and the exchange student was a delight, but she was only staying for a week, and it happened to be the same week (the school, IMHO, arranged it badly) the kids the vsiting students were staying with all had all their midterm stuff due, and my chronically procrastinating child was losing her mind when I arrived back in the house, much to the chagrin of the poor the exchange student. So Mom was on immediate duty, and, oh, how I thought back fondly on hanging out with Emilie. Being a mom to my daughter is one of the best joys in my life, but it is not lost on me that when you become a spouse, and then a parent, you are giving up most of your allowance of fun. So you have to get it in where you can. I would love to escape to Atlanta with Emilie again, or anywhere. She felt like a lifelong friend right away, and she’s also an interesting and talented author.

And, I veered a bit off of my outfit, but, what can I say? I’m a veerer.

It’s getting dark outside as I write this, and I have the door open. We live one block off of the restaurant street, and sometimes, like tonight, there are people who are rambunctious in the street. I’ve heard yelling, some fireworks, sirens, dogs barking. Everyone wants to be seen, to matter, to have some attention, and we get squeezed too thin sometimes, and we get loud, when we get a chance to have some fun, to loosen up the reigns. Everyone is guilty of some loud times, but the breeze and the temperature are too nice to allow a little noise to make me close the door. Whever you are, I hope it’s a nice, if slightly loud, spring evening. Sleep tight.

Posted on

Affordable Book Editing: Transform Your Manuscript

Have you thought about having an edit on your writing project? You can have it on a full book, or a short story/memoir, or even a poem.

What’s the benefit?

  • A second pair of eyes.
  • A dialogue with an experienced editor who is focused on your work, and what you want your work to achieve.
  • One-on-one interaction.
  • A live Zoom discussion.
  • And lots more!

What’s an edit look like?

Kinda like this, though every book is different:

crisp clear notes to show you why I am suggesting what I am suggesting, and collaboration that suits you.

How much does an edit cost?

As a member of ACES and the EFA, I edit based on the standard scale. That means I charge a per-word fee. This is because words can be cut during editing, and words can be added, but the price is based on the original word count. Some editors charge an hourly fee, but I don’t do that, because what if I read much faster than another editor? The other editor is going to present you with a much higher bill, and you’re going to pay for that person’s lack of experience and speed. Word count is much fairer to you, the author. The EFA recommends three to four cents/word, and I charge three cents. For that three cents I will do a combined edit: developmental, line/copy, and proofreading. I’m a registered business in Los Angeles, California, and I give you a contract, so you know what you’re getting, and when you’re getting it. I also offer a free query letter if you’re going to send your work out to agents and publishers. If you decide in the future that you want to publish with Current Words Publishing, I hold a spot for you for two years (no obligation) and do not require a second edit. If you choose to self-publish you can hit us up for any tasks you need help with, like formatting the manuscript. Sometimes authors choose to do a small piece at a time, depending on what they have time and budget for. I’m open to what works best for you. As an example, a 50,000-word piece would cost $1500, and take one week for me to complete, but would include free Zoom meetings and a free query letter, and help and suggestions on how to start promoting yourself as an author.

What makes me the best editor you can hire is that I am so experienced. I have spent over 25 years working with new authors of fiction and non-fiction in many colleges on both coasts. I published an award-winning student literary magazine at UMES for four years. As an editor I have worked on a lot of mystery, horror, dystopian, speculative, fantasy, magical realism, women’s, LGBTQ+, erotic, memoir, and short story collections, including the celebrated Echoes from the Hocker House. I studied under Juan Felipe Herrera, Syd Lea, Luanne Smith, Betsy Scholl, and Christopher Buckley, to name a few. I ran a very successful workshop that met bi-monthly for seven years. I run a poetry coop, and a literary magazine, and I have curated, edited and created many anthologies of horror, mystery, and literary fiction. I have also been a guest editor at literary conferences including the Atlanta Writers’ Conference. I’ll be at the self-publishing conference in Atlanta this spring, where Current Words Publishing is one of the sponsors. There are so many things an experienced editor can do that most “editors” can’t. You have to be choosy. And going with one of the large “we have editors” sites really hamstrings you, because those editors are not allowed to become a part of your literary life. They’re only allowed to do the job and move on. I am not like that. I invest in the authors I work with for the long haul.

The new year is just around the corner. January is already filled for me, but I am open to your project any time after January 31st, as needed. Depending on what you need I can turn around a full novel in as little as a few weeks. Some folks just like to have me edit their new work, a short story or a chapter in the novel, as they finish it. I am very open to a collaboration that suits you.

And, once the year is over, it’s over, and we, much to our frustration, cannot go back. So maybe what you need in 2025 is that push, that meeting, that obligation to send something to someone who is going to interact with it, and you. Let’s make 2025 the year that your book or collection becomes a reality. If you’re interested email: dianne@currentwords.com, or choose a meeting time that suits you.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and literary new year!

Dianne

Posted on

READING BEN, AGAIN AND AGAIN

I met Ben Talbot when he somehow found me online, and asked me to edit a short story he had written. I read the short story, and it was, well, you know, my kinda fiction. It was funny, sly, and odd in the best possible way. It took me by surprise, and, as a person who has read thousands of books and probably hundreds of manuscripts, it is hard to write something that presents to me as fresh. Ben’s story did all of that.

Ben writes a blog.

When an author works with me I give advice on the whole “I’m an author” thing, and my advice is always that each author needs a website (the author’s personal shelf in the bookstore that is the WWW, where readers can find him/her/they), and then to communicate, even if it feels like whispering into the void, so people know about you, have a chance to get to know you, as an author and a human. Most folks don’t take my advice, and even I have trouble with my own advice, as I just don’t get the time I need to attend to my own blog, but Ben took my advice and is blogging… daily. 

Ben already had a website with a blog, but he has started making blogging a very regular part of his life, and that takes some stamina and commitment to one’s writing career. Ben has both.

Ben is also a person with a unique way of seeing the world in general, and I think that is his literary “blessing,” if you will, that makes his fiction so compelling when you read it. You can get a taste for it in his blog. If you wonder what the elusive thing called “talent” is, I guess I would say, loosely, it is the ability to do what other people can do (right? Like even I can play a little piano…) but to do it in an either especially skilled way, or with a unique interpretation, or a different way of “playing the instrument” that results in surprising and new ways of…. seeing, hearing, etc. 

Ben is releasing his first book in 2025, a collection of short stories that function as a novel, much like the classic, WINESBURG, OHIO, by Sherwood Anderson, that is actually labeled as a short story cycle. Ben’s collection is called Periscope City: Where the Lonely Go to Live Alone. Reading Ben’s blog will give you an idea of his style, and keep you up to date on when his book releases. It’s under construction with us now, and I’ll be certain to post when the pre-order is available.

I especially like today’s post by Ben. I left a comment on it that it’s like poetry, of a sort. It’s not so much what Ben has to say, as it is the way in which he says it.

Over two million books get released each year. The first step to being read, which the blogging has an opportunity to help with, is having people know that your book even exists. The second step is, once you get them reading, keep them hooked. And that’s where Ben’s writing shines, at least is does for me, a reader who has been bored way more often than hooked, by books sent my way to edit.

So take a look at today’s blog entry from Ben, and see if you see what I see in his style that I find so intriguing.

And if you’re working on your own book, ask yourself if you are willing to out yourself out there, over and over, whispering into the void, to try to find your readers.