The Gravity of Zen

Don't you just love that title?  I do, it has nothing whatsoever to do with today's post and I have no clue what it even means.  However, I couldn't come up with something good for this header, so I decided to get all pretentious and oogly about things.

Let's call it a writer's prompt, 200 words on the gravity of zen.  For you, not me; I already have something to write about :)

So, how are all my glorious Travellers today?  I hope this missive finds you all well and reasonably happy; because, despite my seeming setback of last week, my spirits are very high.  Obstacles are just gifts with ugly wrapping paper, and once the crying is past and the ugly paper shuffled off to the recycle bin, you can really appreciate what was inside.

This publishing hiatus has not filled me with the expected angst, recrimination and anxiety; I'm actually quite calm about it all.  Many lessons have been learned in the last few months; lessons not just about book publishing/marketing, but life lessons as well.  Now is the time to assimilate all that's been learned, take a fresh critical look at the manuscript and devise a new plan.

And now is also the time to say thank you; it is the time to acknowledge all the fine and generous people I have met recently.  It is high time that I was nice about something.  My tempers are fleeting, but they are too often represented in this blog and not an accurate portrayal of its author.  I'm not saying I don't get pissy, clearly I do, but I'm not an angry person going off on the general population at the drop of a hat either.

Despite my rantings about internet groups, a very gracious one has allowed me to hang around and pester them.  BBT Cafe is a great resource for indie authors and full of veterans with actual printed books that have sold more than 10 copies.  I found them during that first week of that blogging challenge thingy that I bowed out of, and my fumbling questions to the group have yielded good answers.

The woman who extended the invitation has become a good friend, we hit it off immediately and she has become a bit of a mentor.  Since Star Wars is something I like rather than love, I can't call Holly my Yoda.  I prefer to think of her as the Captain Picard to my Ensign Ro.  But most of the best recent lessons were learned because of her, both directly and indirectly, and I respect her opinions.

Because of her, I have (or am actively trying to) released my childish fears and prejudices about online communities and social medias.  I Twitter much more now but I still wish there was less talking at me and more talking to me.  If any of you have Twitter accounts, find me @CairnRodrigues and let's start a conversation because you know I would love to hear from you.  Yesterday I created my first board on Pinterest because I realized that it is a wonderful place to stash my gardening obsession.  That one is all for me though, not the Prospector, so I can show off the flowers, birds and thrifty creations in my yard.

I haven't found a use for Tumbl'r yet, but maybe one will reveal itself, maybe not.  I did put the first chapter of The Last Prospector up on GoodReads today, this was another site that I had been avoiding, so at least internal progress has been made.

There is another big project in the works that you will know about soon enough, it's taking much of my concentration but I am making sure not to rush things.  Patience is a life lesson that I have to keep re-learning.

Wanderer is almost done, no one has commented one way or the other about it, but I quite like it.  It was only supposed to be 28 parts long, but the story demanded an extra day, so there will be an epilogue on March 1.  It all started with Petra and it just doesn't seem right to not end with Petra, if you will so kindly indulge me.

There is one more big thank you that will not be forgotten, the most important one of all.  This one is for you, all of the Travellers who started this journey with me and all of the new ones.  Thank you for reading, thank you for sharing your comments and telling your friends about me.  It is a kindness that I won't ever forget.