Report from the Midwest

It was a long move - from southern New Mexico, to the town of Monmouth, Illinois, and from there to nearby Galesburg. The last leg of it, from a storage shed outside of Galesburg to our new house more or less in the center of Galesburg's north side historic district, is almost over. We love our house, with its wood floors and huge attic. The four dogs are getting settled and not barking at every postman or ambulance. We're getting into the rhythm of things.

Back to my routine of marketing and trying to write. I sometimes find them at odds - can't do one without neglecting the other - and neglecting them both makes me realize how to some degree I'm spinning my wheels. I've had some success - written a few books in the last year, improved my ratings significantly - but also some frustration. I have six or seven unfinished projects. From looking at the sea of authors out there, self-published and otherwise, I have higher standards and want to revise almost everything I've done. But even in making covers, I feel like a rank amateur.

I have my chair set up facing the fireplace, looking out a side window at the peaceful Galesburg neighborhood. Galesburg is a train town. You get out into the streets, going across town for example to the storage shed, and trains can cross your path at any of several places and often do. I like to look at the graffitti on the cars as they pass. I feel like you should always have time to watch a train but some of these are quite long. Apparently the building of three separate bridges over the tracks was a huge relief to the old timers in the town, many of whom remind me that they've been here forever. I kind of like that. I've been here a week. I'd never really been here before.

I did, however, spend thirty years of my life in the Mississippi Valley, eleven in Iowa City (area) and eighteen in Carbondale (southern Illinois). Galesburg is roughly between them, so I know what I'm getting into.

In this brief respite, I take stock. I have twenty-six books out. I'm proud of them all. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and have sold none overnight. But it doesn't matter; I'm still proud of them all. All that means is that my marketing needs work. Eventually it will pick up steam and I'll get back on my feet; it's my new life mission.