AMIDST THE ORANGE GROVES

Hello my dear friends, I am speaking to you from sunny San Diego and having a great time. Yesterday we went to Sea Port Village and San Diego Old Town.

It was wonderful to see my family again and everyone looks great. The hotel makes me lonely for The Ritz, but it is a nice hotel and adequately comfortable. It is on a hill in Mission Valley. Today we will go to the wooden Roller Coaster in Mission Beach and also get our feet wet in the Pacific Ocean.

Wish you could all be here with us and get some rest and relaxation. Going to try the swimming pools today; they are heated so it should be a lot of fun.

Managing to get around on my newly exercised legs and am so glad I invested the time in exercise training or I would never have made it with all of the walking.

I have very little of interest to say today, but tomorrow you will get a much more detailed record of our movements. I have been sleeping a lot and that is good. I had wondered if I could sleep in a strange bed, but the bed is hard and so it is good for my back.

Have a wonderful day and week-end and I will talk with you tomorrow again!

OPEN UP THOSE GOLDEN GATES!

36 hours from now we shall land at San Diego Airport and begin the most outrageous adventure we have been on since 2005 when I moved from San Diego to Atlantic City.

We shall spend the next 10 days getting to know my grown-up grandchildren and taking them to the places that we normally would never get to go to. They, all three, work hard, long hours and live on the poverty level. They never get to go anywhere that costs money and they cannot believe their good fortune in getting to go to several of San Diego's tourist attractions such as Sea World, the Zoo, Balboa Park, and to Anaheim to enjoy Disneyland.

An aside to Disneyland is that my brother, myself, and our parents went to the park the first month they opened Disneyland. We were 11 and nine years old and Disneyland was about 75% dirt fields. There was the  Jungle Adventure, the Steamboat, Tiki Room, Fantasy Land was complete, the car-driving adventure and the submarine ride were very popular, as was the ride to the moon. They had ticket books that you bought for the rides and there were only 5 tickets for the major attractions. The one adventure that was my favorite was in a large field at the far part of Frontierland. You had to walk through empty fields to get there but then you were in a real Native American experience with Native Americans showing you sand painting, leather making, teepee building, and Native American dancing and music. My second favorite experience was that they had constructed a "Home of the Future", purportedly what a home would look like in the year 2000. It was absolutely fascinating and much of what they suggested has actually come to pass.

We are going to Julian to see the town and possibly meet people who are old friends, then down the Banner Grade to stop at the Banner Store and then off to the desert to see the wild flowers in bloom. We are also going to Mission Beach to ride on the very, very old wooden roller coaster. Once there was a huge "plunge" - swimming pool - at Mission Beach. It was one of the only swimming pools (public) in town and many of us young folk would go there on a Saturday afternoon. What I remember the most about the experience is the policy of the pool that only allowed white people to swim there. No blacks, Asians, or Hispanics were allowed. I don't remember swimming in the pool very much, what I remember is trying to figure out why people of color were not allowed in the pool. I could not figure out their reasoning and once I realized the enormity of what they were saying, I never went to the plunge again.

San Diego, when I was a girl - 1940's to 1960's - was a very segregated and prejudiced town. Blacks could only live in one little one-mile square area of town, it was in the eastern downtown area along Market street. We were not allowed to enter that area and were told frightening stories to keep us away from there. There were segregated schools, drinking fountains, bathrooms, restaurants, movie theaters, and in short, black folk were kept down with a foot on their necks.

Another prejudice was against the young men in Navy and Marine uniforms. As girls we were told not to look at, or speak with, them as they were very dangerous and going to speak to one would make you a marked young woman whom no good man would take a look at.

But beautiful? Yes, San Diego is a beautiful city with a very old history. One other thing we are going to do is go to Old Town San Diego and see Ramona's Wedding Place and all the candle-making shops. I hope we get to stop at a Mission, there are a couple in the area, and show William these oldest large buildings that are so graceful and so beautiful.

And, tomorrow there will be no blog, but starting Friday, there will be a posting to let you know how the plane ride went and what the Hotel is like, and what we have done so far. Maybe have an itinerary for you so you know what we will be doing and what we are going to talk about. The book is on a back burner while we are on vacation, but then hopefully David will fund the rest of the production items by the time we get back. That is one thing I dread, asking David for additional funds. But I'm going to put that in the back of my mind and just enjoy the next ten days with Debby, Laura, Sheera, and James.

Have a good rest of the week and a magnificent weekend. Will write to you soon. May God bless and keep you.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

OBSERVATIONS FROM A HOTEL WINDOW

My living room window looks out over the Atlantic City Boardwalk and I have a full view of the Atlantic Ocean. I have placed my couch so that sitting on the seat nearest the window, I can watch this scene all day as I write, and think, and dream. I was always daydreaming and looking out the windows in school.

I haven't spoken about the Ritz - where I moved in October 2012 - lately, but I thought I'd share some observations I've made over the last six months.

I have observed that sea gulls are very territorial and defend their air space against all comers. We have a lot of pigeons in the area that rove around in large crowds searching for the crumbs that people drop, or feed, them. When they enter the sea gulls' air space the sea gulls attack the flock from several different sides at once, thus breaking up the flock and sending pigeons fleeing in all directions. The seagulls then keep chasing the pigeons until they are out of their territory.

Observing the traffic on the Boardwalk is sheer joy. Artists and musicians set up shop at different spots on the Boardwalk and people walking by place coins in their cap or box in appreciation for their work. It is like having a 12-hour-a-day fashion show walking past your window and I can people-watch to my hearts desire.

The window also brings aromas from the many concessionaires and restaurants that line the Boardwalk - from pizzas and funnel cakes to salt water taffy and steaks. The aromas mix and I spend no little time having fun sorting them out again in my nose and brain.

And then there is the ocean and the magnificent sky that changes moods so rapidly. I get to watch the sun rise every morning; sometimes struggling to send even one ray through the thick cloud cover and fog, and some times raising in a burst of red, purple, and orange flames over the horizon. 

I watch the moon rise up from the horizon every night and get to enjoy all of her phases. On cloudy or foggy nights, I miss seeing her silver beauty. And on clear nights the sky is crowded with stars, but most nights the lights from the casinos and hotels and their advertising signs - whole hotels change colors every five minutes - block out the light from the stars. I guess you can choose between seeing Stars and seeing the stars and galaxies.

I will miss Atlantic City over the next two weeks but I also love San Diego and so I shall just concentrate on enjoying her, and Mexican FOOD; the food of the gods. 

And, finally, there is the Atlantic Ocean. She is a different color from the Pacific ocean, sort of a green/blue/slate-gray color and she only has waves of any size when there are strong winds and storms. Usually the waves range from six inches to two feet, but I have seen six and eight foot waves during the hurricane last year. One thing we don't seem to have at all, or at least not very much of, is seaweed. The Pacific shores are always covered in ropes of seaweed which can also hinder you when you try to swim in the Pacific. I love watching the waves surge in and out and wave by wave move closer to the shore, or back away from the shore in low tide. The movement is so comforting and relaxing to watch and it really aids meditation.

If you're ever in Atlantic City, look me up at The Ritz and experience the sights, sounds, aromas, and feelings for yourself.

Have a truly great day, and may all of your prayers be answered in a manner that you can understand. 

  

PASSOVER

This evening begins the first two days of Passover with this evening sharing a seder plate and the age-old story of the deliverance of the Children of Israel from bondage and slavery. William will have the special opportunity of asking the three questions as he will be the youngest person at the seder table. We will play "find the motzot," and enjoy my all time favorite Mogen David; at least four glasses at our table.

This comes following a week where we cleanse our homes of any yeast or yeast products, and switch over to eating matzot instead of bread. We remember how the Angel of Death passed-over the eldest born of the children of Israel, the parting of the Red Sea so that they could escape Pharoah's military, and their eventual re-entering the land of Israel and building a Temple to worship God.

 The Passover Haggadah-which is a booklet that we follow that tells the story and has the Passover prayers and blessings in it-that we use is the Hirsch Haggadah written by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch who is distantly related to our Hirsch family.                           

This will be a short blog today as I have so much work to do to get ready for our Passover Seder this early evening.

As you probably know, Jewish holidays, Sabbaths, & Festivals, all start at sundown on the evening before the actual start-date on the calendar. Some calendars now say that the holiday starts on a certain date, at sundown, and that makes things more understandable.

I should hear from Outskirts Press today and learn how the book is coming along. Hopefully everything has begun to  begin and the book will be in preparation as we go to San Diego on Thursday.

Sheera says she'll lend us her laptop so I can do my blog most days-at least on the days that she is not using it. Everything is falling into place and all the loose ends are beginning to come together. I think this is going to be a great experience. Wish you were along for the ride.

I will be back tomorrow with good news about the book. Have a really great day and a happy Passover if you observe the Jewish Holidays.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

A SLIGHTLY MIXED BAG

A week from today we will be in California breathing in the aroma of eucalyptus trees, watching the swaying of palm trees, and enjoying the beauty of bougainvillaea. I will also get to hug and enjoy the love of my daughter, Debby, and Laura, Sheera, and James my grandchildren. I have not seen Debby since 2008 and it has been eight years since I have seen my beloved grandchildren. I am beside myself with joy and anticipation and thank ONE for keeping us safe and sound and for providing for this trip.

As far as the book goes, I have not heard from Outskirts Press since sending them my material. I expect it may be Monday before I hear from them again, so I am working on the working summary for the book sellers. I keep finding little things to change. It is the document that will potentially be used to sell my book on Amazon, and in the regular book stores. According to its value to the book's future I will polish it until I have a diamond with great fire; or at least give it my best shot.

I have contracted a mild flue that has made it difficult to get up and blog, so today is no great shakes as far as ideas and thoughts getting written. I am sorry for this as this is one of the last days that I can blog before leaving for the trip.

I am going to try to get to a computer everyday, but I don't really know what I will find once I get to Debby's. I am sure that at least some blogging will take place and I am hoping to be able to tell you every day what we have been doing. 

Whatever happens, I ask you not to forget to check in occasionally and see if there is new material up. And, worst case scenario, if I cannot blog at all during the 10 days, I will be back on April 9th and shall resume with a travelogue of our trip, an update on the book, and any new observations we make on this great trip we are so fortunate to be able to go on.

One of the great joys of this trip will be to see San Diego from the eyes of William (12 years old) as he observes so many new sights and has so many neat experiences. We plan to go to Anaheim's Disneyland, Sea World in San Diego, the San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park, the wooden roller coaster at Mission Beach, and to Julian to show William where we had the mine and also to see the desert with the wild flowers in bloom. So much to see and do. I will also see my life-long friends, Christine & Tony, and get to meet with Anders and Scott, Ed Nelson's children, and tell them about the upcoming book and what it will mean to them personally. 

I will be thinking of you while I am gone and hoping that I don't lose your interest while I am away. You, and the blog, are very important to me, and I would rather not go on vacation if it means losing your interest. Thank you for your understanding and we will talk about other topics during the rest of next week that we have together.

Have a great day and may you be blessed in all areas of your life.

   

E = M(Csquared)

Energy = Mass x the Speed-of-Light squared was a gift to the world from the great mind of Dr. Albert Einstein.

Like many of us I have been pondering that equation for many long years. Since I am only self-taught on the subject of physics I understood what he was saying but not what he meant. I was trying to get the meaning down to a single comprehensible understanding. Finally last night, watching the Science Channel, I believe I had a breakthrough in understanding and I pass it along. Now let's see if I can get this out.

Energy is mass moving at an extremely high speed (the speed-of-light squared).

Mass is energy moving at a slow speed.

Energy, manifesting itself as a particle or wave, is energy when it is moving at the speed-of-light squared,
BUT,
slow the particle or wave down and it becomes mass.

Energy into mass? Slow it down.
Mass into energy? Accelerate it.


That is how mass is created from energy and how if you move any mass fast enough (at the speed-of-light squared) it reverts into energy. Take a rock and throw it fast enough and it will turn into energy.

Now, if I have this all wrong, PLEASE someone, send me an e-mail and let me know of my error. I would love to hear your feelings on the subject.

Have a wonderful day and may all of your needs be met.   

A SIGNED CONTRACT

Last night I finally took the big step and signed the publishing contract with Outskirts Press. I feel so free now. The decision has been acted upon and now it is full speed ahead.

Now we will see how the publishing business really works. After signing the contract they had me choose the options that I desired to have in getting the book literally put together. I chose to pay for U.S. Copyright registration; Library of Congress number (LCCN); Standard interior formatting; e-book format; professionally designed custom cover (I sent them the illustration I had drawn and explicit instructions on the cover that I wanted on the book, and they in turn take my rough artwork and turn it into what I believe is a great cover for the book); 10-pack of internal images so that my map of Kor and the Veral Solar System can be included inside of the book; and I chose the Paperback format instead of the hard cover because I felt that the softer book will be easier for students and readers to tuck the book into a bag or backpack and easier to pass to a friend to read. I want the book to be read wherever you happen to be and not to worry overly about taking care of the spine of the book or its edges. Today, it is the most popular format for a book. And if I am wrong about this, I can always go back and have them publish it in hard cover at a later date. I also chose to have it formatted for an e-book. So the book will be available in softcover print and in e-book forms.

OP also had me choose the size of the book (6x9) and the kind of paper I wanted for the inside of the book and I chose a heavy-weight, cream-colored, eco-friendly paper. It seems to me that the cream color would make for a "softer, easier" read, especially on the eyes. My goal is to have produced a comfortable "friend" book that you can take along wherever you go and be happy to share with your friends.

OP had me write an author's bio and a headline and short synopsis of the book for the back cover, they also collected a color picture of myself for the back cover. The other thing they asked for is a longer synopsis, 3,800 characters (including spaces) for a sales tool to the book stores and on-line description of the book's plot.

Now I am waiting to hear from OP, my friend and publishing assistant Larry G. He has been terrific and so understanding of each of my foibles and struggles to get the book to him in one file. The book was quite wonderfully received by the editor, who approves or disapproves a book for publication, she said Bravo! that I had done a great job of writing and found the book to be exciting and the characters rounded and whole and said that they had become her friends while she read the book. She was sorry when it ended and looks forward to the energynauts further adventures in the remainder of the Trilogy...and beyond? As long as I am alive there will be new adventures for my four friends as they travel across the Cosmos in answer to ONE's children's prayers. I have them, in my mind, visiting beings who live on the world of an electron, in the Cosmos that is inside of a very old rock. This is just so much fun!

A week from today I will be madly packing for our trip to California. It has been 27 years since I have been on an airplane and I am looking forward to the experience. And I can hardly wait to show Willie (my grandson who is 12) palm and eucalyptus trees, and the beautiful semi-tropical plants and flowers. We will be renting a car and going to so many places and I will get to visit with my friends, Christine & Tony, and Anders & Scott.

Thank you for having patience with my down moods lately, I am flying today and life is just getting so exciting. Things are never static and I am sure I will have my ups and downs even in this exciting process. However, I believe that the process will also help me to grow and develop; it has already given me some new skills on the tech side of life and computers. Have a great day and I will see you tomorrow.

EMPATHY - FEELING ANOTHER'S PAIN AS OUR OWN

Of all the possible character attributes one can come by in their search for spiritual advancement, the one attribute that can teach you the most and open up your heart to your fellow human beings - and animals, is the attribute of empathy. Empathy, in our usage of the word, is the ability to feel and understand another's pain as if it were your own pain. Even more, scientists have shown that if we develop our ability to feel empathetic towards other beings in their pain and anxiety that that is the natural state we are born into, as we actually are hard-wired in two places in our brain to literally feel other's pain as pain we have experienced our own selves. One area affects the emotional response to other's pain and the other area the logical concept of pain that involves another's feelings and the actual pain they bear.

Those two areas of our brain help us so that we can understand logically the ramifications of another's pain and sorrow and be able to find words, or actions that might soothe or help the situation they are in. And second, we feel the actual pain of the other sufferer as if we had lived the same situation ourselves, and we respond emotionally to their feelings. Thus we actually feel the pain that we observe in others and can more readily reach out to them with help and understanding.

The same scientists have found that people who are sociopathic - cannot and do not feel pain for other persons or animals - do not have functioning brains in those two areas (the amygdala, thalamus, and in cortical regions of the brain) and cannot feel pain that is not happening to them directly. Those folks do not come to the aid of other persons in trouble or pain because they cannot feel the trouble or pain unless it happens to them.

Small children, for the most part, have a very strong instinctual feeling to reach out and assist those who are experiencing pain. Most mothers have had the experience of a small baby reaching up to wipe away her tears, and having their small child come to them with a pretty picture, a loving sentence scribbled on a piece of paper, or a tender kiss and the words, "don't cry mama (or papa), I love you." As time passes and we grow up to adulthood we have done one of two things, 1) allowed our heart to remain tender and develop this basic skill of reaching out to comfort others in their pain, and allowing ourselves to actually feel other's pain without blocking it out, or 2) hardening of our hearts when we recognize another's pain and trouble and closing their plight from our conscious memory. A lot of people think it is only wisdom to block other's pain thinking they have enough pain of their own and don't have the time, money, or patience to give from their hearts to others. They feel that it is only logical and self-protective, and I suppose on some level they are absolutely right. But for those of us, who are seeking to live on a higher emotional, psychological, physical, or spiritual plain, we rejoice that we have the hard-wired capacity to understand and empathize with other's pain, because it gives us the opportunity to reach out and help other people, our families, our friends, those we love...total strangers, in a way that is natural and truly responsive to their needs.

Most of man's spiritual teachers, including Jesus and the Buddha and many others, have as their most important teaching that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. To do this, we are given the physical gift and emotional gift of empathy. If we do this as we have been directed, and that is hard-wired into our beings, then we climb swiftly the levels of spiritual advancement and quite frankly come to know great joy and peace of mind. We also receive another gift in that we are then able to understand and experience many more things in our lives than those who shut themselves off from experiencing anything more than they absolutely have to.

This may sound funny to some, but Facebook gives us many opportunities to have empathy for other people and causes that we might not have been aware of before. We can express our empathy for people, give them our help, understanding, and support and it really helps yourself and the person you are having compassion for. Facebook has kept me out of depression many times over the 2 years I have been connected and it is because of the kindness and loving understanding of friends, family, and others that I do not even know very well, but have come to care about.

Lastly, to promote empathy is the greatest form and recipe for good luck, which is expressed as:

      L  ove

      U  nderstanding

      C  ompassion

      K  indness

Have a great evening and I will talk with you again tomorrow morning. Love and best wishes!

FROM MOUNTAINS TO MOLEHILLS TO PERFECTION

Larry, from Outskirts Press received my e-mail containing the whole manuscript in one file and all of the other pages and pictures that go between the pages of the book in another file. They made it to him in good condition and Larry took the charge for a technician to put the book into one folder off of the cost for the package. So, finally I have the knowledge of how to put the book into one file and ship it to OP in one attachment. It felt great to figure that one out.

Next challenge is to go through that one 24-chapter long file and make sure that no mistakes came into being from all of the moving and switching things around. I have gone through 10 chapters and only found five faults so I have hope that this will really be the last time that I read her for mistakes, errors, typos, and other flubs.

Would you say a little prayer for me today? Today is the day that my son, David, is supposed to pay OP the costs for the 40+ little costs that come up with publishing, such as, paying a professional to take my rendition of what I want for a cover and turn it into a professional cover ($299); having a return policy; selling to Kindle after formatting the book properly, and so many other little costs that I had had no idea were a part of publishing. David is having second thoughts, he does not want to part with any money, for any reason, and the book is frustrating him. He may make me wait to get the book going until we come back from the vacation to San Diego. Please, Davey Joe, please support me in this and you will get your money back as soon as the book sells. You will come first. Your prayers or thoughts on this subject would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

In two weeks we will be in San Diego. and beginning to have a great time. The time is passing so fast now and I am so hoping that there will be a computer that I can use everyday. If you don't see me around Passover, or Easter, it will be because we were out and about all of those days, and the computer wasn't available. Not everyone has a computer where we are going and so I am just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best of good fortune in that area.

Today I will be going through the last 14 chapters of  Legend of Kor and hope to get it resent to Larry in as good a condition as I am able to do. Always, always, looking for typos and lost sentences. Want it to be perfect for you, my dear reader!

Well the weekend is upon me and tonight will be Shabbat once again. A time for rest for a little bit and get my thoughts organized. Then we will be back on Monday morning and have new subjects to address. Have a wonderful week-end and may you have joy and a time for fun and relaxation. Thanks for everything!

LIKE A PHOENIX RISING FROM THE ASHES

Happy days are here again! The sky is bright and clear again! So let's sing a song of joy again; Happy Days are here again!

I cannot believe how upset it made me to hand over the book to the publishers. It felt like sending my grown child out into the world alone; I felt the loss of the empty-nest syndrome. I had no idea that the book had become a real, live entity to me and that I love her just as she is. Now she has gone to make her place in the world and "suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune."  My writing work has vanished and in its place is a new relationship with a publishing company, and then out their door into the world of marketing and struggling to make sales so she doesn't get lost in all of the other books that are out there.

One of the things that was really bothering me was not being able to get my chapter files over the internet in one file. After studying for two days and talking to some other WORD users, it finally became clear to me how to get the said files into one e-mail attachment. It had to do with a clipboard and copying files from one file and pasting them onto a different file and keeping doing so until all of the files were copied onto the one long file that is the book. I sent the newly created file to Larry at OP by e-mail attachment. Hope he doesn't mind getting yet another file.

I finally figured it out about 6 p.m. yesterday and worked to get it completed until about 8 p.m. then sent Larry the attachment. Suddenly it occurred to me that I hadn't eaten, or gotten dressed, or done my blog for the day. So I am here typing at 3:00 a.m. to make up to you for missing two posts this week. And I thank you for bothering to come back.

So what is new on the horizon? I have unpacked the first book in the trilogy which is going to be the second book, and a prequel to Legend of Kor. It needs a lot of revisions and rewrites and I expect that it will take 6 months to a year to get it ready for the publisher. The name of the book is, THE GOD GAMES: Heaven & Hell, and tells the story of how our chief protagonist, Ann, sets up and chooses the parameters of her new life game in Heaven; then she is born and the book relays her trip to Hell, or Earth as it is also called, and strives to grow and become more spiritually advanced so that she can win her life game and be able to return to Heaven and stay there eternally doing jobs for ONE. I hope you will be able to enjoy reading this book as well as the first.

Now, I will start packing for the trip as well as revising the second book, and trying to get my doctors appointments straightened out. I think I will be back on the brighter side of the street for a while and very busy and my blogs should be of a more positive nature.

Wishing you a wonderful and fruitful day and may your heart be dealt with gently by all you come across. Tomorrow we will walk down the revision pathway and talk about what we are on guard for as we comb through the reams of paper.

REDUCED TO A PILE OF ASHES

The title is what my heart feels like right now, and I am struggling to overcome such negativity and be able to write in a positive manner, but it is just not happening today.

The good news is in from Outskirts Press. The editor that goes through your book with a fine toothed comb looking for errors, typos, and the need to re-write the book, e-mailed me a letter on Friday. She said that the book passed with flying colors and she felt it was a great little book that kept you deeply engrossed from beginning to end. She particularly liked my characters and how they interacted between themselves and with the reader.

So onward and upward. It will take about three months for the book to be put together and then get put on sale. So probably at the end of May or beginning in June of 2013.

I'm sorry that I did not get a blog done yesterday. I was emotionally and physically drained and feeling very ill, so I stayed in bed for a day, and today I am feeling well again, so off we go.

When I was finished with the Legend of Kor, I started on the second book right away. It is Heaven & Hell, and is a prequel to the first book. I had finished writing it about a year ago, but it needs a lot of revision and rewriting and I think that it will take another 6 months to complete it; up to 1 year if I get boggled while doing it.

I seem to be very emotional again and range in moods from very happy, to desperately alone and depressed. I can't understand what is happening to me. I should be on-and stay on-the great silver cloud that is publishing a book. But I am severely stressed by the technical part of this work and not being able to quite get what needs to be done, done. I need to know how to set up a folder to hold only the chapters (files) of this book. 1) How do you make up a new folder in Word? 2) what is the formula to use to put new files into this new folder?? 3) can I then take and attach the folder to an e-mail and have it be sent  as just one attachment per e-mail? Please, if you know how to do this, e-mail the instructions to me at davalenehirsch@comcast.net  If you would do this, I will send you a copy of my new book as soon as they are available, and sign it and personalize it for you; your own "first edition."  HELP! Brain freeze.

Tomorrow will be a better day. I will spend the night seeking a worthy topic for all of you to enjoy. In the meantime my brain is working in ultra-slow motion and I cannot think of anything positive to say today, except to say that I love you and things will be back to normal in the next day or so. Thank you for your concern and understanding.

CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME!!

I LIKE THIS LIFE!!

Today, feeling absolutely great. I received an e-mail from Larry at Outskirts Press (OP) and he said that there would be no problem getting the 24 files into one big file so it can be evaluated. Everything is going right on schedule, so I was very relieved and spent the day organizing and cleaning. Now, this weekend, I can begin to revise Heaven & Hell.

So we can begin a new subject. On March 28th, David, William, and I are going to San Diego, our old home town, to visit my daughter Debora (Debby) and her adult children, Laura, Sheera, and James. We will be staying at the Days Inn in Mission Valley and plan on showing everyone a good time by going to Sea World and the Zoo, Balboa Park, the wooden roller coaster on Mission Beach, Julian and a drive into the mountains to see the old gold mining claim we once worked and lived on.

We will be gone for 10 days, until April 6th, and are traveling by airplane and then renting a car to use for the whole time we stay there. We will be seeing a lot of old friends since we were all born and raised there-except for William who is a Philadelphia young man.

I believe that I will be able to continue blogging during the trip as Debby has a good computer and I will use it every day that I can, to keep in touch with you. I shall also still be able to Tweet if you happen to follow that.

I shall also be visiting my step-children, Anders and Scott, and spend a day with them. They are my dear Ed's children-Ed is such a prominent character in Legend of Kor-and I will be discussing the book and royalties with them. Any royalties I should receive from all of my books, and anything else that I should create in my lifetime, is going to be spread in a very fair way by each person receiving an exact % of the royalties. That is the gross amount after taxes, business expenses, and the executor's fees, and most importantly after the first deduction of 10% for tithing. I think that I am ready to handle money-for the first time in my life (which may be why God has not had me handle much money-up to this point-as I have a poor track record). I have investment plans-Treasury Bills and a flexible small percentage for investing in stock options. Ed was a stock broker and he taught me how to figure out a spread sheet that computes when and what to buy, and when to sell options (puts and calls).

Enough business as I merrily count my chickens before they hatch! I may have a total in royalties of a mere $200 or so, and I realize that there are no guarantees about whether a book will actually sell, or not. But I am trying to get things in place so it will be seamless in case there is money involved. My goal has always been to be able to leave a legacy for my children and grandchildren and for the first time in my life I sense that it may be possible. One thing that they have all come to realize is that it takes hard work, time, and perseverance in order to reach your goals. I think that just having a book finally published-even if it is not a chart buster-demonstrates to the grandchildren that hard work is its own reward and goals can be reached if you just don't give up on yourself, or God.

My soul is at rest and I am ready for the Sabbath. Thank you for your prayers and your support. I will be back on Monday, after my meeting with Larry at 1:00 P.M. EST. I should have a lot of questions answered and will share with you as soon as the conference is over. I pray that I will be able to understand all that Larry has to say, and that I make good decisions. Have a wonderful and restful weekend and I will speak to you again on Monday. God bless you all!

WHAT IS THIS DEPRESSED HAPPINESS?

I am in a state that I have never been in before. It may have to do with being up for 48 hours straight trying to solve technical WORD problems. It seems to me that you used to be able to move a file from one folder to a new one and then send that folder as one attachment, but I could not find any such function and I was stuck with 24 different files (each one = a chapter of the book) that I could not find a way to send as one attachment. I was tearing my hair out in frustration when finally I hit upon an answer. Jubilant, I went ahead and sent what was (I thought) 24 files in one attachment. Outskirts Press (OP) received the e-mail with an attachment. The attachment was opened and it contained 24 separate files. Scream! Humiliation! I felt so stressed that I kept at trying to work out the problem for another 8 hours. Finally, I threw in the towel and consented to letting one of OP's technicians put them all into one file-at $50 an hour-about a 1/2 an hour project for that technician. I am definitely computer whipped and exhausted and have made a great first impression on my new Publishing Consultant, Larry. I meet again with Larry, on the phone as he is in Denver, on Monday at 1 p.m. Then I will learn more about the next steps. Now that I have groused your ear off with my personal frustrations let's talk about the truly great thing that happened yesterday.

After three years of writing, revising, correcting, typing, re-typing (about 10 re-typings), lots of sweat and tears and frustration, THE GOD GAMES: Legend of Kor, is now at the publishers and an editor is going over it to see if it is indeed ready to go to the printers (typos, errors in grammar or logic, properly formatted, etc.).

Legend of Kor is at the publishers!! I am only just beginning to grasp that notion. It doesn't seem real yet; I am pinching myself. My heart is slowly accepting unrivaled joy and relief, I think that sometime today it is going to hit me and I am going to be doing cartwheels.

I don't quite understand the dichotomy that my spirit is in right now. perhaps I am just exhausted after spending so many hours the last weeks typing, typing, re-writing, re-thinking, struggling with WORD.

But I want to make this statement of thank you so much to ONE, our dear Lord who walks beside you every minute through the good and the bad, for never leaving me alone and always giving support and encouragement. This is my gift of love to Him. I pray I may live long enough that I can give many more gifts to Him. Many more opportunities to speak of His love for all of His children.

Well, today will be a clean-the-house and do-the-laundry day. I can actually relax over the next 4 days, and then back to the business of publishing. My next project is the Prequel, THE GOD GAMES: Heaven & Hell, which is basically written but needs a lot of revision to make it its best. So, another 6 months to a year and there will be a second book at the publishers.

Thank you so much for your presence and your support of the last 14 months. If I did not have you to write to I know I would not have had the strength to keep pushing to get the book done. The book is also yours.


Tomorrow we will discuss the trip that we are going on in 3 weeks. To California. Have a great day!

OUCH!

Well, I am embarrassed. There I was thinking I was so prepared and then the time comes when the publisher asks me to send the manuscript. There is a Browse strip and I opened what I thought was going to be all the files of the book and instead managed to only send one page, the Title page, period. There were no do overs, only a nice robotic message that Outskirts press had received my manuscript.

They have assigned a very nice Publishing Consultant to me but this was all done electronically and so I await a return e-mail telling me how to re-send the manuscript. What a way to start out.  But I must say that there is also no pushy salesperson. To this point.

So, I have been up all night, reading books to find out where my error was and I finally had the idea of how to do it. So I am ready to resend and expect to hear by phone from the Publishing Consultant later today.

I, meanwhile am going to go to sleep for a while as I am falling asleep at the keyboard.

Have a really great day and I might write again a little later in the day, after hearing from the publishing consultant, particularly if the news is good. OK, just fell asleep, so good night for now!

THE BIG DAY!

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long today to get to my blog. I woke up with a passion to finish polishing the book until it shone, and it is a good thing that I did, because it still had a raft of errors and typos in it.

Today is the day that I have my first meeting with my publisher. I am wildly excited and yet sick with dread of the unknown. It is just that this is my first time and as much as I have studied, read, and researched what I am about to do, I still don't really know exactly what they will require of me. What if I don't understand what they are explaining to me? What if I don't have the qualities needed, or the experience required to fulfill all that will be asked of me? The answer is, I don't care what it takes, I am pressing forward and am going to succeed no matter how much work and learning I have to do. Lord willing; if the Devil doesn't interfere!

Actually, my heart is happy because I truly believe that God has had a hand in this from start to finish and I believe that He will guide me and help me to understand what is needed to go forward.

This blog is going to be very short today because I have to go from writing it and posting it, to setting up the meeting with the publisher, which I must do in the next 15 minutes. So if I promise to tell you all of the gossip tomorrow, will you forgive me for the shortness of this blog? It is just that I am shaking so hard and my stomach is so on edge that I think I'd better give this up while I am still able to do something positive.

Thank you for your understanding and support, tomorrow will be a better day!

THE DEVIL'S WORKSHOP

Happy first day of the week to you!

After two days of struggle and strain, I have finally finished the "perfect" copy of the book that will be sent to the printers. After writing this blog, I am going to spend the day re-reading the copy that I think is so perfect, to see if it really is, or if it needs just a little more re-working. It seems to never end.

Saturday and Sunday I had set to finish typing this final copy, but every which way I was pulled away from the book. I developed such a nervous condition that I had to stop typing after every two pages and take a rest and some form of distraction. Chapter 23 was 11 pages long and rife with little errors. I just could not get my mind to concentrate and I began to get the uncomfortable feeling that my finishing this book was not on someone else's agenda. An agenda that hoped that I would crash and burn. I started having serious doubts about what I was doing and if the book was indeed worthy of publication; was I letting my readers down?

And then, I got a mysterious message from someone that I do not know, on Facebook. She purports to know me well and she wanted everyone to know that I was not miss Suzie perfect, indeed that I was a terrible person and what I write was coming from an insincere heart. She accused me of letting my daughter, forcing her actually, to live on the streets. It is obvious to me that she did not understand the situation for what it really was, and of course, she is right in a way: I am not perfect by any means.

In fact, I must make sure that you understand that I have done many wrong things in my life and did not always operate under the finest principles at the time. The worst things I have done were done when I was very mentally disturbed and not thinking in my right mind, however, I still did them and I must always remember my mistakes so that I don't repeat them. I have hurt other human beings and broken the law even a couple of times, and I am heartily ashamed of my actions and have repented their commitment.

The great thing is that God understands our actions and forgives our mistakes when we do teshuva (turn around from our evil ways and make restitution), and I know in my heart that God loves me and has asked me to write what I am writing, not because I am some perfect example of what a person should be, but because I have actually experienced doing very wrong things and yet have come to have a passionate love of God and am willing to put ideas out there that I believe come from the love He has for all of His children and His desire to let His children know that they are truly loved, no matter what their past has held; or holds.

So, I am a sinner of the first magnitude, and I can relate and understand where everyone else comes from and have a strong testimony that God loves us exactly as we are; just as we are right now.

I will spend the rest of today getting all of my ducks in a row and then on Tuesday, I call the publisher to prepare to send him, or her, the book. My stomach is in knots, but I am so grateful to have made it through the final typing and correcting process. Now, on to the next step.


Tomorrow we will go over the next step with the publisher. I hope you are having great success with your own book. Thanks for listening and caring enough to return every day, or so. You are really a great help to me.

A MESSAGE FROM HEAVEN

What am I trying to accomplish with the three-book series, THE GOD GAMES Trilogy?

1) To let you and all of my brothers and sisters across this planet know that God loves you just as you are right now.

2) That there is one God, with as many names as He has children who call upon Him. I choose to call Him, ONE, because He...o.k., let's stop right here. I do not see ONE as being either male or female, but rather ALL. There is nothing that exists that is not ONE. I have chosen to refer to ONE, when using a pronoun to represent ONE, as A; which stands for ALL. So let me rewrite that last sentence: there is one God, with as many names as A has children who call upon A. I choose to call A, ONE, because A is the sum total of all frequencies, all energy.

3) That love is not a weak, ephemeral feeling, but the great FORCE, the great energy that designed, created, and directs the Cosmos; that is the Cosmos; that is ONE.

4) That there are human beings living across the Cosmos. That they are unique as to looks depending on the conditions that exist on their particular planet, but that they were also created by ONE and loved by A. That we all play life games while we are living on our particular planet and that we all have the same goal: to live our life game the best way we can and come to a place in our lives where we realize that we are all a part of ONE and are one with all of A's children, and that we are all made from the energy of ONE meaning that we all have ONE within us as does everything and everyone that ever existed. We see ONE in all matter and anti-matter and all speaks of the love that ONE has for each of A's creations.

5) That we all have the opportunity to win our life game (one lifetime on any of the planets in the Cosmos) before we die, by coming to a love of all of ONE's creations, and to know that ONE includes each one of us; that we are literally all part of ONE - as nothing exists that is NOT ONE. If we come to these conclusions before we die, we "win" our life game and remain in Heaven doing ONE's bidding for all eternity.

6) And all of this is couched in the adventures of four of ONE's energynauts as they travel from planet to planet helping to answer the prayers of ONE's children.

7) In the first book, Legend of Kor, we experience life on another planet and follow the adventures of four energynauts who have come to Kor to answer the prayers for deliverance from a mega-maniacal dictator, Gog, who is trying to exterminate the orange Wales because they are looked upon as being inferior, and enslave the rest of the humans on the planet in order that Gog has total control of the planet and can run people's lives as he sees fit.

8) In the second book, Heaven & Hell, we follow one of the four energynauts as she goes through the process of choosing the conditions of her next life game on the planet Earth, lives through Hell-which is life on any one of the planets in the Cosmos, and then returns to Heaven after a long, and difficult life game, to see if she has won her life game, or not. Does she get to remain in Heaven this time around, or must she go through the process of creating another life game again?

9) In the third book we take a long look at our elder brother, Satan, as he conjures up a new scheme for getting back into Heaven by challenging one of ONE's children to a contest of wills and to see if he will stay loyal to ONE in all that he does. This book tells why and how Satan has so much influence on our life games, and why ONE allows him to tempt us and lead us away from eternal truths. The name of that book is, Satan's Challenge.

10) All three books are about the reality of Love and its great power to transform our rather downtrodden lives into one life that is centered in Love and service to our fellow beings, and to all of ONE's creations.


I hope I have not frightened you off of the book. They are all filled with great adventures and a scientific bent towards what life has to offer us across the entire Cosmos.