Monthly Archives: June 2014

Thursday morning my mom called me and said, “Do you have a minute?”  I said, “Sure, what’s up?”

She said, “Now when you’re father can’t sleep at night instead of painting, he’s decided to read your book.”

I said, “Holy crap, you’re kidding me.”

And she said, “No, and he is so impressed with your work, he wrote a note to you last night before he went to bed.”

She proceeded to read the note to me.  The note was so special filled with lots of accolades and maybe at least one ‘genius’ thrown in too.  (Hey I am his kid, of course he’s going to think that)….  But what was so impressive was how special and proud he is of me.  I’m still cringing with the idea he is reading stuff that he and I have absolutely never ever talked about….I feel a little naked here…maybe not as much as if I were Miley Cyrus…naked for the world to see… but close.

My father has never been one to demonstrate his feelings towards us a lot but that was before he got cancer this last time.  Now every time we talk he is quick to tell me/us how proud he is of us and how much he loves us.  Touches my heart.  I’ve  always known how much he cares but its always been from a quiet place.

I think reading my book- and by the way, my dad only reads historical/political/scientific/newspaper kind of stuff….facts spelled with a big FACT- never ever fiction.  But he is actually enjoying my book.  Unreal.  I just wish I could hide certain parts from his eyes …language not so much, he was a sailor after all and a wizard at fixing everything in and out of the home except plumbing which is where I learned most of the 4 letter words I use today…just sayn’.

At any rate I think he has always seen me in a different light, his daughter light and to see me as an artist has opened a whole new door.  And he’s proud of me.  Did I already mention that?  And how many times???

I am so grateful he thinks that way.

This came on a good week.  In the beginning of the week I felt like I had a lot coming at me….I’m trying to promote my book; get the word out…..I’m a creative artist…not so much a business person so this end of the spectrum can feel pretty daunting at times especially when I come up against road blocks.  And I had a few this week.

In the midst of these (which I’m not going to mention cause well I can’t say…but I can say now I’m laughing instead of crying about them) the marketing person with Balboa called me to see how its going…I was momentarily struck silent for a second…yes, me with no words.  I had nothing.  I thought about Hillary Clinton….:) she came out with her book what- last week? and already its sold millions.  Maybe I should introduce myself…

One idea I had was moving my book at the book store to a more prominent spot, you know where everyone can see it.  (That’s marketing right?  And I saw it done in the movie Endless Love)  My friend who was at the store had the same idea and did it for me- sending me a picture of my book’s new home.  Later on that evening I went in to see for myself.  My book had been removed and put back in its original spot….not that its a bad spot…its a great spot… But I thought it would be a good idea to have my book in beach reads as well as new romance.   I mean Sunny’s Story is all about the beach in a manner of speaking.  I approached two of the personnel there to talk to them about it.  Lets just say they were less than receptive to the idea of talking to me.  Maybe I had on my alien mask or something…:)

Feeling discouraged and a little off, it was such cool surprise to hear that my dad was reading my book and that he actually likes it…Go figure that…

Now if I can just get over the idea of him reading those parts……………..:)

My family and friends are my biggest fans…obviously-they love me.  But what’s interesting is how each of them have responded to Sunny’s Story.  My family especially.  I have been touched and impressed with their comments to my writing ability, especially from my mom.  She reads all the time and she said that she is so proud of me.  She says that she had no idea that I could write like that.  She also said there were parts she had to close her eyes with…a little bit awkward reading and hearing that from her daughter.  And believe me she’s no prude, she read Fifty Shades of Grey….not that my book is anywhere near that but still some parts had parts that she and I usually don’t discuss.

Same with my son who recently went to Miami for the weekend.  While he drove, his girlfriend read from my book out loud.  Michael, my son, says that from now on he will not be able to watch the movie Pirates of the Caribbean without remembering the part in my book which he claims ‘was way too much information’ for him.   But then he also went on to say how proud he is of me as an author and he loves the story.  And wants to hear more, he thinks…

My family also (once they get past the embarrassing parts) look to see who the characters are modeled after.  I keep reminding them that the book is fiction and the characters are their own; but they’re not buying that…  And yes I will agree that although there are similar traits in some of my characters that is where the truth ends and fiction begins.  Again they’re not buying into it.

My mother keeps saying that she doesn’t see herself anywhere in the book.  The rest of the crew disagree.  And they go so far as to point out certain mannerisms and words that she uses that they see in the story.  When asked… I said to my brother that he may have a slight resemblance to the character Mark….which then he proceeded to tell me what he thought of Mark, which I won’t say here because its like my book, a little R rated for language; but lets just say I immediately changed my statement (can you do that?) from Mark to Ethan; the one my sister in law thought reminded her of my brother.  He liked that; although he says he’s still not talking to me…   🙂

My sister who has been great about it, has been the one most referred to as Rain (Sunny’s sister in the story)….And although Rain may not always come off in the best light, I love her and I think she is great.  And again…there are similar traits but that’s where it ends and the rest is fiction.   That’s okay though, my sister and I have a deal; if people are going to continue to think of Rain as her or vice versa… After my sequel is finished, my third and final book in this trilogy will be….’ And then there was RAIN’….(thanks Bec, for the title and suggestion.)

And not to leave out my friends….one whose name I used in the book with no resemblance to the character at all; has asked me to change the spelling so there will be no confusion in the future. 🙂

And last but not least is my husband.  He does not read novels…but he read mine.  Okay never mind I’m not going to tell you what he said………

And they all want to know who Kate is…they love her and can’t figure out who she was inspired from.  I’d tell but then I’d have to…………    🙂

Yesterday afternoon late, Sonny came home looking like he’d been through a war zone.  Battered, beaten, and bruised.  He lay quiet and wounded.  My baby.

I feel for him.  Frank keeps telling me that he will be fine.  I know this.  But I feel the angst and pain because he’s an innocent and also because I feel responsible.  Because he is mine to take care of and even though I’ve done what I could to help him with his ear infections; somehow I feel like I’ve let him down.

We got Sonny five years ago during a very difficult time in our lives.  Our son Mark was going through a tough set back.  From the moment we introduced him to Mark and they both lit up, we knew he was ours.  Sonny like his name is sunshine.  He’s so happy, playful and sweet that he is always bringing joy into our lives just by watching the way he enjoys his.  Everything is an opportunity for fun to him.  Whether he is going for a walk or run (I love to watch him run, its like poetry in motion), going for a ride, chasing our cats or ‘the girls’ our cows, or swimming in the pool, everything is a ‘treat’ to him.

To see him like this breaks my heart.  Well at least it did last night.  This morning even though he’s still ‘quieter’ than usual, his tail is wagging, he’s laying next to me and he’s my sunshine once again.  Yea Sonny, nothing keeps him down for long.

This past Monday I noticed Sonny’s ear lobe had swollen to the size of a blowfish or like a mackerel that had been out of water for several days.  I got him into the vet at the first available appointment.  The vet was able to lance his ear and it went back to a normal flat size.  The vet said there was a chance his ear would swell again and if so he would need surgery.

And sure enough his ear puffed out again.  Michael, my son, started calling him Dumbo, after Disney’s flying elephant.  When we’d left the vet’s office we had medications and drops that I’d hoped would take care of the problem but to no avail.

So today I called the vet…again.  And I was told Sonny would have to have surgery and we’d have to go to a different vet to do so; meeting up for a consultation first and then setting up an appointment for next week.  I’m not sure Sonny’s ear could wait that long.  He might be actually flying (Dumbo) by then.

Frank called and talked to a vet he knows and was able to get him in today, this afternoon.  In the meantime I’d called around and googled on my I-phone looking for a holistic vet and was able to find one in our area.  The doctor said that he could make up a homeopathic remedy for Sonny’s ear that would heal him.  Too late, Frank had already brought Sonny.

So now I’m waiting for Sonny to come home and hopefully the whole thing was not too traumatic for him.  And his ear will heal and soon he will be up for his long walks and blackberry picking.  Yesterday Frank and I were picking blackberries on our property.  Sonny helped…..only he ate all of his ‘pickings’………  Loving Sonny……………….

The past several weeks have been really busy getting ready for this week’s art show, my first sidewalk event.  I started five paintings at once and worked on them simultaneously, finishing this past Monday.  Relieved, I then went on to get ready for my dad’s birthday party which is tomorrow, right after the art show closes for the day.

While painting, my house kind of went on strike from neglect….dust bunnies were the least of my worries….so I went from painting artsy mode to cleaning- laundry, mopping floors, scrubbing bathrooms from top to bottom, dusting/polishing, planning menus, shopping for food and birthday, baking,  etc.  And in the midst of the flurry, I’d walk by my paintings and see something I’d missed, pull out the paint brushes, paint again…it became an obsession.  I’d start dinner, see something, tell Mark to hold on for a minute and two hours later get back to the business of fixing dinner…Thank goodness my guys are patient with me.

The fact that I’ve been free to create- writing, painting, publishing, and now participating in an art show; shows me that my son is doing so much better…and I am forever grateful.  And it would seem things couldn’t get better than that.   Miracle one.

And yet it does…..to be able to celebrate my father’s 84th birthday this Saturday with a small family get together is so special.   Two years ago he was diagnosed with cancer and not given much hope for survival….And yet here he is, celebrating 84 years young!  Miracle two.

It’s a weekend to smile about……….  heart smiles…………