Unconnected

I nearly had a writer’s breakdown – 3 days without Internet—2 without power altogether. Normally it would not have been a crisis, but I was in a writing groove. I am dubbing my near nervous breakdown as composus interruptus. It was horrible. Reading was the only solution, and fortunately I am reading a fabulous book—Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. Beautifully written.

Now that I am connected, it is back to work. I have a lovely assignment for Liver Health Today. I am writing a feature piece on spirituality and prayer. It’s a nice break from hepatitis C.

Odd Titles

The Bookseller, a British trade magazine, awards an annual prize for the oddest title. The award is called the Diagram Prize and it was first given in 1978 to Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice.

Here are some other previous winners:

• Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes
• The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification
• Bombproof Your Horse
• Reusing Old Graves: A Report on Popular British Attitudes 
• The Joy of Chickens
• Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality
• Natural Bust Enlargement with Total Power: How to Increase the other 90% of Your Mind to Increase the Size of Your Breasts    

So in the spirit of the Diagram Prize, I propose the following title for my book: The Happy Hippy Hepper: Health Tips for the Contented Beatnik with Hepatitis C

I Am an Author

“If you want to be a writer-stop talking about it and sit down and write!” ~ Jackie Collins

I finished my manuscript, mailed it to my publisher, and said, “Now I am an author.” To me, a writer writes, but an author writes books, although technically they can be used interchangeably.

When I started this project, I talked about it, thought about it, agonized over it, swam in it, and danced around it. Then one day, I sat down and wrote for an hour. Hour by hour, word by word, it got done.

Now I get to start my next book.