Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Wednesdays With Joanne - "What's in a name?"

Evidently quite a lot!

Any of the rest of you out there in "Literary Internet Land" having trouble keeping your name(s) straight? Between our URLs, WWWs, blogspots, links (more like linking logs to me), hyperlinks, yahoo IDs, group yahoo IDs, MySpace page (are you friend or foe?), ever changing e-mail signatures, YouTube (at your own risk), a password here...a password there...not to mention, God forbid, if any of you are using a pseudonym...!

When I turn on my computer first thing in the morning, and attempt to "key in" the right blog and/or yahoo group for comment and/or posting, my head spins more than Linda Blair's in the Exorcist! What's the right ID now? The right password? Where is my file about which file is which, telling me which name I put in where??? That's when I check my chest, and if I don't see three 6's carved there, reassured I'm working for "good" and not "evil," I take a deep breath, another sip of strong coffee, and try to calm myself.

"I can do this. I know I'm 61 and wasn't born in the computer age, but I can do this! I went to college, received a BS in Nursing, cared for countless patients with their lives on the line, married a nice Jewish forensic psychiatrist, gave birth to three children, managed to get two books published. I'm not a total moron, oxy or otherwise! Or, am I...

If I can't even remember my name on most days, or at least the "right name" to enter for the right computer access, it's time to take a breath, take five, smell the roses (I already smell the coffee), gather my wits, sing "I Have Confidence" every morning, pull up my bootstraps, suck it up, soldier on (have I left any cliche out?), and add a little levity to my day. Computer life need only be as complicated as I make it. Code for: don't jump into the deep end of this site or that, unless you're wearing serious safety gear!

You tell me your password, and I'll tell you mine!
Jo(anne)

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Wednesdays With Joanne - "Wonder of Wonders...miracle of miracles..."

Hi all,

What a difference a day (and a good bottle of merlot) makes! Fortunate and humbled (no understatement here) to receive good reviews from Library Journal and Romance Reviews Today for A...My Name's Amelia, I'm breathing a sigh of relief...and introspection.

To give too much credence to reviews, which are subjective, is likely not a good thing. But the good reviews go down oh so easily! While I'm still choking on the bad one!

Time to move away from marketing and on to writing again. I have all of my research done for The Parlor House Daughter and plan to get started on this frontier romance soon. As you can tell, I'm fascinated by heroines in the Old West. Talk about miracles...it's a miracle women survived in the mid-nineteenth century West at all. If you were not married you were a prostitute, end of story. Unfortunately that did mark the "end" for many women who by hook or crook, entered the world of prostitution. Since I've told you that I do believe in miracles, I also believe that a young woman just might be able to navigate her way through the dark and seedy world of the "red light district" in 1880 Denver, and come out alive! As for unscathed...you'll have to read the book!

Shalom,
Jo(anne)

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Wednesdays With Joanne - "Do you believe in miracles?"

In the writing business, I HAVE TO!

Hi All,

I'm still recovering, or shall I say "Amelia" is still recovering from a chilly review by Publishers Weekly in their latest issue. Ouch!

Thank goodness Amelia is getting a better reception on other fronts:
Harriet Klausner's Review Archive "...Amelia is a refreshing lead protagonist as she is deaf...Aaron is a fine lonely rancher who needs someone who can handle his taciturn personality...these characters and other secondary players make for a fabulous western romance..."
Joan Johnston, NYT bestselling author "A...is for Amazing. Don't miss it!"
Alice Duncan, award-winning author "A...My Name's Amelia is a beautiful story about two wounded people and the power of healing through communication and love."
Karen Kay, bestselling author of Native American Romance "A delightful historical, full of little known facts that's sure to engross and entertain the reader."

Reviews are subjective. One reviewer's opinion is just that: one reviewer's opinion. But...when the reviewer aims the gun at you and you're down, and then comes over and fires again at close range...just to make sure...your're pretty much DOA!

Only a miracle can save Amelia now, and I do believe in miracles! I believe that librarians and deaf schools across the country will see fit to breathe life into A...My Name's Amelia and give her story a chance on their romance shelves. I also believe that when folks go to Amazon to order, they won't let one reviewer's opinion stand in their way.


Shalom,
Jo(anne)