Tuesday 27 August 2013

Garbage Day

The greatest day of the week for me is Tuesday which is garbage day. I tend to leave things lying around the house all week and then on Monday, I spend the day gathering up all the plastic take-out trays, the plates, the recyclables, and the general garbage. On Monday night, I put out the blue recyclable boxes and our only one bag allowed of garbage. It is so wonderful to have a neat and organized house. All that eye sore is gone without too much bother. You just put it on the curb and miraculously it disappears leaving your house clean. I just love this miracle of the civilized world.

One thing happened that was quite surprising while watching the garbage men arrive to dispose of our messes. The garbage man picked up my bag of garbage and threw it into the middle of the road while he waited for machine to crush all the bags presently stuffed into the back. I was so surprised he did this and I held my breath in case the bag broke. I know he wouldn't be cleaning up the mess even if he made it.

Luckily, the bag didn't break and I watched as it was thrown in the back and taken away. How lovely. I love garbage day.

A friend came over to visit and I bounced ideas off him to assist me in completing my sixth book: The Package which may or may not be the final title. The plot is about an eccentric, Canadian family who is embroiled in the art work and await the delivery of a recently revealed package from their ancestors in England. Each member of the family is involved with a different branch of art; such as, collector, gallery owner, insurance, legal, agent or an artist. It is fun to write though I think it might make a better play. The whole novel takes place in two rooms of the family mansion. Still haven't figured out how to end it but I'm sure it will come to me.

have fun,
patty
www.pattylesser.com



 

Saturday 24 August 2013

It's the Weekend again

Boy is time every flying by but, in a profession such as writing where you do a lot of waiting, this can only be good for me. I am waiting for the editor at the publisher's to get back to me when the evaluation is complete. It is exciting to learn what they think of your novel. Their opinion is very important because they know what people are looking for in a good read. I hope Locker Rooms meets with their approval.

Locker Rooms has many interesting twists and turns which I hope will encourage people to read it. I make up a few scenarios which are truly unique; such as, the main character, Alida, convinces a convict on death row to take a message for her to Satan. Yes, I have included the great devil in my novel who tempts Alida away from her good work.

In addition, Alida successfully survives a few tragedies which are described in detail in the novel. I hope I have well developed her relationships with the many people she meets in her exciting adventure. There is much symbolism in the novel which I hope are easily recognizable.

I am also waiting to hear from Chapters in Meadowlands, Ancaster. I received an email from the employee there who manages the books in the store. Hopefully, she will be in contact with me soon to let me know when I should bring over some copies of my book: Shall We Chat? to be sold in Chapters. She was on holiday for a week so I'm sure she's behind.

The weather has been fantastic and I'm hoping this summer never ends.

have fun,
patty
www.pattylesser.com

Tuesday 20 August 2013

A new week

Locker Rooms is now with the publisher. They are checking it over for any copyright infringements which I know is safe with my work. Then the novel will go to the editors and that will take 2-3 weeks. But at least its out of my hands for the next little while and I can work on something else.

At the moment, I'm working on my sixth book. I started it a few years ago and now reading it over and hope to get some work done on it. I like this book because it is fun to write. Its a mystery/drama about a Canadian family involved in the art world. Every member in the family works in art as different career options; such as, collector, artist, gallery owner, insurance or the legal aspects of art.

The family has been waiting for the receipt of an ancient package from England which is delivered by Marcus who has come to Canada ostensibly to tour the country. Unbeknownst to him, he becomes embroiled with this ancient family only to learn their secrets. The package is eventually opened but you have to read the book in order to learn what it holds and what it means to this family.

Sound interesting?

My sleep has been good. I still require time to get used to the CPAC machine but I am sleeping better as I wake up in the morning feeling rested. I see the doctor next week so we'll see what he says. The machine has a chip which can be read by a computer so they are able to see how I sleep. Quite technologically advanced, eh?

have fun,
patty
www.pattylesser.com

Tuesday 13 August 2013

A New Book

I am pleased to advise that I have added a new book to my list on my website. The Nuts is a novel about a conspiracy that encompasses all of the United States. A dangerously psychopathic man decides he should rule the American people and proceeds to set about ruining the lives of the American people giving them no choice but to follow him.

To the rescue are five poker buddies: Jack, Ted, Peter, Mark and Gary who had formed a science study group in university where they were constantly pulling physics pranks on their school mates. Once university had been completed, they all stayed in the Boston area and obtained jobs using their science background.

What began as a studious university study group soon turned into their poker night. All the men were proficient card players, but it was poker which was their specialty. The men took the game seriously and, every Thursday night, they gathered at Mark's home to hold their poker games. Often, the group would take trips together to some place where poker tournaments were available.

Due to their inquisitiveness and curiosity, these five men uncover the conspiracy and bring about its fall through intuitive and well organized means.

I hope it will be a good read. It is not finished because I still need to re-read it over 100 times before I can send it to an editor. But I thought you might like to know what I'm working on.

have fun,
patty
www.pattylesser.com


Sunday 11 August 2013

What a Saturday!

Of course, I brought my CPAC machine to my brother's home because I was staying the night and I'm pleased to report that I had a good night's sleep which was necessary for me to be able to handle Saturday. My brother's house has a wonderful Queen size bed hidden away in the basement away from all the noises of the house which I appreciated.

It is wonderful staying at my brother's house but it is small for their two dogs, two kids and of course one wife. There is lots of movement of which I am not used to. I live very quietly alone in my house with my dog and cat who are as relaxed as I am. But it was definitely a nice change even for one night.

On Saturday, I took my nephews to their first baseball game. It was a bit of a disaster. I had asked my brother drive us early enough to the game so that we could watch the naming of the players and for the national anthem. Not only did we miss that, we missed a home run.

When we finally arrived, the boys wanted to get something to eat so we got hot dogs, popcorn and something to drink which added up fast to $40. (My brother gave me $40 to pay for food but I didn't expect it to be gone so quickly.)

I was lucky enough to get some great seats. We were 11 rows from the field along the third base line. It's a great place to sit because you can see the field well and realize how fast those balls are thrown. Both my elder nephew, Aidan, and I enjoyed the game. I continually explained the game to them and especially the younger one, Liam, who was happy as long as he had something to eat. Once he had ran out of food, he wished to leave which we did.

Before leaving the stadium, we all had to use the washrooms. I let Liam and Aidan go in the men's washroom and I went into the women's. When I exited the women's washroom, neither Liam nor Aidan were there. I had lost them both. I walked around a bit looking for them but they were no where to be seen. After some terrifying moments, I found Aidan but Liam was lost. We must have spent 15 minutes looking for him. Suddenly, Aidan's cell phone rang and we were told the security people had picked him up and he was waiting for us. With great relief, we were escorted to Liam who was happy with the pencil and colouring book the security people game him.

You can imagine the terror I was feeling while looking for Liam. Finally my brother and sister-in-law had allowed me to take their children somewhere and I lose them. I hope I am allowed to do other things with them after this fiasco. Once Liam had been found, we took a taxi to where my brother and his wife were having lunch. I was so glad to return the children to their parents' care. They didn't seem too upset that I had lost their child.

Unfortunately, there were two accidents on the highway on the way home to Hamilton so the 50 minute drive took an hour and a half by bus. Boy, was I glad to arrive home. I picked up some sushi on the way home and was glad to enter my own, quiet home. My dog is visiting with my parents but I had left Emma, my cat, alone in the house. My neighbour came over to feed her in the morning which I appreciated. Emma was so happy to see me. I don't think she likes being left alone and I can't blame her.

Today, it is tennis. I saw Serina Williams win the women's tournament (there is really no woman capable to test Williams) and now I'm watching Nadel (who I usually root for) and Roanic who is Canadian and I have to cheer for him. This is some great tennis. Wonderful way to relax after the crazy couple of days I had.

have fun,
patty
www.pattylesser.com

Friday 9 August 2013

A Day of Travel

To get to Toronto and my brother's house today, I used almost every form of transportation. I received a lift from my good neighbour in her car to the bus station. From there, I took a bus to the next town over because the train doesn't come into Hamilton except on rush hour. The train from Aldershot is nice but you stop at every station along the way. I haven't been on a train in a while and tried to work, but couldn't handle the motion of the train while writing. So, turned off my computer and just enjoyed the countryside and cities which we passed along the way.

When I arrived in Toronto, I had a hell of a time walking through the main station to find the subway which is in the same place if you can find it. So, walking a ways, I found my way to the subway. It costs $3 to take the subway now. I remember when it was $1.25. I had to take the University line to the intersection of Yonge/Bloor and then I had to find the subway train that goes east. I had a little bit of a difficult time managing to find that subway stop which I did in due course after making a few wrong turns.

The subway was packed as I had arrived during the beginning of rush hour, but luckily it moved quickly and, in 20 minutes, we arrived at the Victoria Park station where I got off. Then, after getting confused again, I found my way to the street and located a taxi to take me to my brother's home. There was a ton of construction going on in my brother's neighbourhood and the taxi driver had a tough time getting me here which he did finally.

My brother was at home when I arrived and I quickly managed to get outside for some air and to relax without motion. It's amazing how dizzy you can get from travelling. Boy it's nice sitting outside. My brother and I had an opportunity to catch up before his wife and two children returned from shopping for new clothes and such for school. While the boys change and get organized. my brother is making dinner and I'm sitting in the backyard writing this.

I have almost finished re-reading over my novel: Locker Rooms which I will be forwarded to the publisher hopefully early next week.

Tomorrow, I'm taking my nephews to their first baseball game. Should be fun!

have fun,
patty
www.pattylesser.com

Saturday 3 August 2013

Yeh! A New Day

For the first time in years and years, I woke up at 8:30 am feeling awake and alert. I actually couldn't go back to sleep and didn't want to. I felt amazing because I felt refreshed. I actually had my first really good night with the CPAC machine. It was so wonderful waking up this way. I sure hope it continues. So far, so good!

What is amazing too is that I look forward to going to bed at night. In the past, going to sleep at night was worse than eating liver. I hated having to go to bed at night and would stay up as long as possible. I wouldn't hit the sack until I could barely move or think so I had no choice but to go to bed.

Now, I can't wait until nighttime where I can go to bed. I look forward to putting on the nose device and going to sleep. I am not having any problems falling asleep with it on. If I continue having mornings like this, my life will change.

As previously mentioned, I have decided to scrap my second book which I had considered publishing for a while. Oh one day I'll get back to it and rewrite it but now I have other projects I want to work on; such as, my first book Locker Rooms which I wrote 10 years ago which has been completed and ready to be published. I am reading it over again this weekend and glad I did. Finding a few mistakes. But I do enjoy this book and I hope others will too.

The publisher has agreed to begin the publishing process over again with this different novel. I will be keeping you advised of the sequence of events.

Great weather we are having eh? Great summer!

have fun,
patty
www.pattylesser.com