It’s been a busy week, one that has had me running in many directions trying to get work done. Thankfully the weather has been fair, so I’m not battling ice and snow as well as a hectic schedule.
I am battling the urge to research explorers to North America. I knew Christopher Columbus didn’t discover a New World–he discovered an Old World–still, I wasn’t aware so many other explorers had made it here before the Vikings settled at L’Anse aux Meadows in 1000 AD.
In Social Studies, my home-schooled son and I are exploring these explorers, and stories ideas are pelting me like hail. I find myself wanting to search for more information on the people who came after the Asians crossed the land bridge into Alaska and…those who came before them. Who were the first humans on North American soil? Ah, we may never know.
I make a point of reading two to three articles a day on writing, editing and publishing, so I can keep up-to-date and learn new things. This morning I read Business Musings: Bestselling Feet And Other Thoughts by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and it made me chuckle. The tag “Best Selling” lost its shine with me a long time ago; anyone can be a best-selling author for a day.
The addition to a byline about awards has also become dull, so when I see nominated for several awards, I think, “Yes, but did you win any?”.
To be honest, I think my brain needs a vacation because it’s coming up with all sorts of nonsense, such as the new byline I wrote in response to the ‘best selling’ and ‘award nominations’:
Diane Tibert is a writer who homesteads in Nova Scotia. She’s the daughter of a Bluenoser and a Newfie. She’s written on many topics over the years, including graveyards, hen-scratching, printing stories, playing with manure and dead people. She’s been nominated for many awards and never won anything except a one-year membership to the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (October 2015) and an autographed “Reckless” album by Bryan Adams (1985). Her name has been misspelt as Tibbert, Tilbert and Tolbert.
Now, back to work I go.
COMING SOON: Another report on my marketing experience.
The next 300-word Castle Keepers vignette has been posted. It introduces Kellyn Mulryan to readers. Look out for this woman. She’s not like anyone you’ve read in my stories. She’s going to make you angry, shake your head and wonder, “What the heck was Diane thinking?” She is a sharp contrast to Bronwyn Darrow, and as you can imagine, these two butt heads often.
I love your nonsense byline! 😀 I sometimes feel like writing something similar when I’m on overload from the grind of serious self-promotion. I’ve been looking around your blog and am amazed at how you find the time and energy to do all you do!
Thank you so much for visiting and following me and the storyhounds
The overload of the grind of serious self-promotion–yes, I feel that now and again. When I wrote this silly byline, I was disappointed I didn’t have a parent from New Brunswick because I really wanted to use herring-choker. That’s what we call them in the Maritimes. A bluenoser doesn’t sound so bad after hearing that. lol
Thank you for visiting and touring my blog. I’ve been adding things for more than four years. I spend a lot of time writing, mostly because I love it. I try to create a balance, allotting a certain amount of time for writing, blogging and email. Most of the time it works.
Lol, great post Di, and love the bio. So true, if someone puts their book on promo with ads and makes the top of the charts for a fleeting moment they are ‘top selling author’. I just don’t have it in me to put that byline of temporary status on my tags. Maybe one day if I ever hit, New York Times Best Seller list, I’ll succumb, lol. 🙂
“Best Selling Author” is just so…I don’t know. My eyes fly over it without my brain registering because of exactly what you say: book promos push the book to the top for a fleeting moment, then…
It returns to its former position. My books have reached that plateau a few times over the years, but you won’t see me use the tag.
Knowing how the New York Times Best Seller list is manipulated makes that list artificial too. Publishers are ‘working’ that list, and it is meaningless.
I see a book as a good seller only if it is around for a decade or more and still selling, and people are still reading it. Winnie the Pooh is a best seller. lol It has staying power.
But to be honest, a book by a best selling author doesn’t automatically mean I want to read it. All those movies that win Oscars are often not the movies I enjoy. But to each their own.
Thanks for visiting, and for leaving a comment. Here’s to your bid for the New York Times Best Selling list.
Lol, agreed on all counts. 🙂
Hi Diane, I actually liked your “bio”. And the stick lady is perfect. Keep it simple may be the way to go. Thanks for making me smile. 🙂
Thanks, Tracy. I like my bio too. It really does speak more to who I am than my ‘professional’ one. I love keeping it simple.
I have a fascination about the Native Americans because, yes you guessed, I’m part Native American. The Ponca tribe to be exact. All most any cultural group of humans could have lived here before the Asians skipped over by way of the bridge, although it could be that land masses sat closer together then making everything a lot more possible and one ocean being enormous. Interesting stuff to ponder on.
Native American is in my bloodline too. My great, great grandfather’s brother married a native, and I strongly believed he did too. It wasn’t uncommon for sisters to marry brothers. I can find only the woman’s name–Martha–and nothing more. Looking at our bone structure, we know we have the blood.
Sometimes I think history is too quick to limit who did things and what was done. History is written with the facts, but also from the point of view of the writer. I tell my kids, “he who wins the war, writes the history books”. We’re far from escaping this, but other things are coming to light, and any day, a new discovery might be made to change the way we think.
I agree: the land masses may have been closer and, of course, sea levels were lower during ice ages.
History provides too many story ideas. When I read history, the part of my brain that writes stories is sitting at attention, looking for ideas.
Thanks for visiting, and for leaving a comment.
I quite liked this post 🙂
Thank you.
I love the tenor of your post. As a source of connection, my son is home-schooled, too. Thank you for putting a smile on my face!
Thank you. I see my son is two years younger than yours. Most of the time, school work doesn’t inspire stories, but I can’t help but feel that tug to write when I learn history. So many stories left unwritten…
Thank you for visiting and for leaving a comment.