Launching My Book and the Story
Entries are made daily so scroll down to see prior entries. This page will remain until my book, The Laundromat General is released April 20th, 2022.-JMD
April 16, 2022 - Working on last minute formatting.....My thoughts for the day--- finish...finish...finish...finish...finish...finish...finish...finish...
So, I will stop now, and until next time I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
April 3rd, 2022 GOT MY COVER!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
So, I will stop now, and until next time I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March 30, 2022- "While I am afraid of failing I'm more frightened to not try what I love to do." --JMD
March 23, 2022-
Today I wrote a Blog/story, The Envelope Please. It's about the Oscars. You can click onto the story/blog button at the top.
So, my thought today for this journal is when you're writing you have to be prepared for interruptions.
So, I will stop now, and until next time I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March
March 22, 2022-
Creating a book and sending it out into the universe is like bringing a child into this world. --JMD
I would never have understood this until I began writing. Anyone who is a creator, if it's a success, you get to take the credit; if it bombs, you still get to take the credit.
I will now enjoy every step along the way in releasing my book. This includes the final editing, formatting, cover design approval, and decisions for pricing and marketing. I will look to my character, Nina's strength and wisdom for overcoming my fear of failure.
"She ruled out any possibility of failing. It wasn’t vanity or
overconfidence, but her distaste for disappointment."--Nina from The Laundromat General
So, I will stop now, and tomorrow I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March 21, 2022-
Today we are working on the cover. So much to consider. I have the help of a great graphic designer who knows all about books, editing, and publishing. However, most importantly, she's good with writers, especially a newbie like myself.
So, I will stop now, and tomorrow I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March 20, 2022- Our own secret of life, do we each have one?
We are all unique. All we have to do is look in the mirror. Think about what others have pointed out to us. Hearing comments like, "You dress so interesting," may indicate you have style. You stand out.
What others say about you can indicate your uniqueness, good and bad.
My character, a boy with autism, follows his journey in discovering what makes him unique.
Finding your authenticity, which enriches one's life, reveals a person's secret to living. I think we each have one!
So, I will stop now, and tomorrow I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March 19, 2022- Mothers and Sons
Whether it's a natural or adoptive parent, the grandmother, or any maternal role of influence, the mother-son relationship is essential. When you think about it, it's like poetry.
"So there’s this boy. He kind of stole my heart. He calls me 'mom.'" --Unknown
My characters Nina, the mom, and Buddy, her son, have a relationship whose foundation is conventional, and circumstances are unique.
They formed a partnership based on their need for order and routine. The process contained a rhythm or a flow. It became a dance.
They loved, negotiated, and accepted the evens of their lives with patience and respect for one another.
So, I will stop now, and tomorrow I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March 18, 2022- Insults VS directness--it happens, so get over it.
Many of us sometimes open our mouths and insert our foot. We may say something stupid and regret it. Maybe we are not aware we said something hurtful or offensive; either way, our actions can result in embarrassment or punishment.
Remember the world we live in now and how sensitive people are; some react with an immediate response to pounce. Please consider some words or terms no longer acceptable and have been replaced may not have been absorbed by everyone yet. I'm not talking about things people say that are plain offensive and ignorant. I refer to language that has evolved within our culture.
And what about those who lack filters without being mean-spirited. Their directness is their way of communicating. I've heard it time after time, and I must say those, without ill-intentions, their frankness can be beneficial.
So, I will stop now, and tomorrow I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March 17, 2022- We all need a purpose in life. Don't we?
Each one of us requires a few things in life in order to thrive. Starting as babies and throughout our years, we need love, support, and a purpose. Love and support build our confidence, make us more self-reliant, and help our ability to communicate. Then we can each have a purpose.
I believe everyone has a purpose----and purpose comes with conflict.
So, I will stop now, and tomorrow I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March 16, 2022- Getting ready for Autism Awareness- April Month 2022
To learn more about information on autisms and this year's awareness month's activities; learn how you can get involved, click here
So, I will stop now, and tomorrow I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March 15, 2022- Why did I write about a boy with autism who is gifted?
If you read my introductory post, I mentioned my background and history working with young and older individuals with unique characteristics throughout my working life. I never consciously set out to write about autism but my experience working with individuals and families was always there in my memory bank...
I had an idea for a story about a boy who discovers a passion for machinery with rotational characteristics like washing machines. I considered some of the many qualities of some of the young people, from the past, I encountered and made the association between them and my story’s character. Once I made the decision to identify him as autistic, I wanted the story to interesting but realistic while advocating for human empowerment.
So, I will stop now, and tomorrow I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March 14, 2022-
Today taught school, and it is no surprise I wasn't able to focus; I couldn't get out a coherent thought out..... -------Oh Well.
My quote of the day from the book was, "He was like a sweet dish—a blend of naiveté and self-assurance, with a pinch of ginger accentuating his wavy red hair."
I love my character; his name is Buddy.
So, I will stop now, and tomorrow I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March 13, 2022- We all Need to be thick-skinned
It’s day 3 of my launch, and I am still licking my wounds from a rather unpleasant experience in this process of releasing my book. As many new writers do, I joined several Facebook writing groups, welcomed with open arms offering kind words and expressions of encouragement and inspiration. OMG, I found my peeps!!!
You can post anything about writing----- questions, comments, asking for advice, and as quickly as you click on share, you receive feedback. Many writers are established, some with experience still waiting to break out, and then the newbies. All in all, it is a great place to connect with others. You feel like you’re part of a real community. ------Yes, until you don’t anymore!!!
I posted a picture of a design cover I made for the book, first mistake writer’s 101. I even said something like, “I’m ready for criticism so bring it on!” It wasn’t long when it started, post after post, more negative but with many inspiring replies. Looking back, it was stupidity and arrogance in displaying an amateurish work of art. I can’t help myself; my instincts are always to control my creativity.
I pulled up my big girl writer’s pants and took all the shots thrown at me, constructive criticism in detail for the most part. I took it with grace and replied to each one with a thank you.
Here’s where it all went south. ------- I added a tagline referencing my character and being on the spectrum--- and I got slammed. I was called things, from condescending to committing pity porn ( I never heard that one before, but it’s real). It became a thread of attacks stating that I had no business writing about this subject matter. People slammed me for my usage of the word spectrum, and I was hurtful to the community. ---I’ll stop here.
The fact they knew nothing about me and continued left me angry, and the worst of it, with self-doubt. Was I being insensitive? All I wanted was feedback on my cover design.
My question to these trolls is, “What gives you the right to judge what I write about?” You may not like my subject matter and think I’m a lousy writer. Don’t read it. What was most upsetting was all the little smiling-like replies people clicked onto their comments. WHY AREN’T WE KINDER?
I calmed down, stopped replying, and left the group. Yes, I felt like I picked up my toys and stormed out the door.
I don’t want to fail to mention that I received many kind remarks, and some even went so far as to message me and tell me to ignore the trolls and go forward with my work. I felt so silly and fell off track. But then I read this one message that perked me up. A woman said she loved my cover, which reminded her of an older Andy Warhol vintage design from the 60s. Suddenly all the mean-spirited feeling went poof and dissipated just like that.
So next, I contacted a professional cover designer, and here I sit, spilling my guts.
So, I will stop now, and tomorrow I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. You can comment at the bottom.
JMD
March/12/22- Introduction
Welcome to the official page I created for this journey in launching my book. My Story titled, The Laundromat General is scheduled for release on April 20th, 2022, at 11:00 am. So, since you’ve made it to this page, I humbly thank you in advance!
If you are familiar with any of my work, like my blog/story section on my website or my workbooks for caregivers on creative programs, as you know, I always include an aging perspective. However, my book coming out is different; it is my first attempt at writing fiction.
Now with forty days from my official launch announcement to the day it’s released, I thought I would journey with this time in my way, and that is to invite you in.
Why I write?
One of my favorite quotes is “We read to know we are not alone,” – the character of C.S. Lewis in William Nicholson's play, Shadowlands.
I am lifted by the writer’s understanding of our need to connect with others; his words resonate with my desire for writing. “I write to know I am not alone” I like to pick and choose who I want to hang out with and create my own hero and nemesis. If I don’t like the present, I can return to the past. I can even relive a time worthy of revisiting. I know I can’t rewrite history, but I can skirt around it. I can even create a new universe If I wish to. ----I love to write even if others don’t think I am good at it.
My book and why I wrote it.
My new book title, The Laundromat General started as a short story around 15 years ago.
My story is simply about a boy, coming of age, who has always been described as unique and different. What makes Buddy unique is he is gifted; and what makes him different is he is autistic. Being both he thinks and reasons with more complexity and intensity and fewer filters, in the beginning. Like each of us, we are part of a larger journey that includes our family, friends, and everyone else but we each have our own path we must walk alone. How we merge the two makes up our life story. Buddy’s place in the world merging alongside his path is his story.
I have always been drawn to children who are different and unique; my earliest connection was in the early 1960s at my elementary school, Franklin. There we had a classroom of students, all considered developmentally challenged and I remember spending a lot of time there. Another classmate Julie E. and I were selected to help regularly which later set me up as a paid counselor working at a local camp for kids run by ARC (an early organization known for their programs and advocacy). I think I made $100 for the whole summer. While I always considered this field of work and I did for a few years, I ended up having a career that lasted over forty years working with seniors with a specialty in dementia.
So, I will stop now, and tomorrow I hope to have something interesting to say.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t be shy. See you tomorrow!
JMD