Had a Blue Screen?

Last Tuesday, I had a big shock. In the morning as usual, I turned on my laptop. It opened fine, but then suddenly died and went to blue screen. My laptop was at least five years old so I knew this could happen at any time. Of course, I immediately drove over to my computer guy. My hard drive was badly corrupted and he wasn't sure what he could save. I had started two new books and hadn't as yet backed them up so I was worried.

John at the Computer Trade In was truly amazing. He was able to download most of my stuff which he transferred it into a new/used computer. Luckily, I didn't lose any documents or my emails. It would have killed me to lose those. In the end, I only lost my calendar so I have no past. If I had to lose something, I'm glad that's it.

I rely on my laptop the same way most people feel about their cell phones. My whole life is on here. Everything important to me is on the computer. Sure I back-up everything on USB sticks but I don't do it every day and something new consistently occurs. I honestly don't know what I'd do if I lost everything. That would be a terrible disaster. So I'm so relieved all is good.

 For a complete change of topic, I would like to discuss 50 Shades of Grey. I haven't read the books though a couple of friends did. They both agreed the writing was poor so I didn't bother. The movie finally made it to the movie channels so I was able to watch it for free. Wasn't going to pay to see it.

Was really surprised at the movie. It was terrible. It's basically about sex between two beautiful people. All the other characters had no substance, interest and were poorly described. They added nothing to the plot. And the dialogue was horrible. I couldn't believe how bad the movie was. It deals with dominant/submissive sex of which I have no interest. If a man ever touched me like that, I'd call the police.

He did terrible things to her. I can't believe this was actually filmed. The sex scenes are just soft porn. Don't see any private parts but otherwise there's a lot of nudity. I didn't find it a turn-on in any way, shape or form. If you like that stuff, the more power to you. I have no intention of reading those books or seeing any future films.

have fun,
Patty
www.pattylesser.com
@PattyLesser

Are You an Author?

What does it mean to be an author? It used to mean you spent years writing that perfect novel, printed off a copy, boxed it up, then send
it to a publisher. Perhaps you’d then become one of the lucky few who they’d agree to publish. If one publishing company didn’t accept it, you sent it to another firm then another until your great manuscript got published. Either you realized the dream, or your dream was dead.

Nowadays, most publishing companies won’t look at an unsolicited manuscript. You need an agent and most agents require writing samples in the form of a query letters and proposals. You can write to any number of agents, and they either may not respond or they may send a format email advising that you’ll only hear from them if they express an interest.

You can take that avenue and spend months or years trying to find someone to represent you, or you can self-publish. There are a number of available options these days. You can self-publish through a publishing company that specializes in that, but then you pay them a lot of money for a sub-standard product. These companies are out to make money from you not your books.

On the other hand, you have Createspace or Lulu, where you can self-publish your books for free. It’s easy and straight-forward. Also, you can publish within days rather than waiting two years as you would with a traditional publisher. You don’t pay much to buy your books so you can make a good profit when you sell them unlike the situation with those publishing firms. They require almost the book price if you want to buy a copy. You lose money on every book you sell unless you charge a higher price.

Okay so now your book is published and you expect it to sell, but it doesn’t. No one knows about it. Millions are self-publishing and setting themselves up on Amazon. You have to stand out and build an audience, which means marketing.

Marketing is the biggest job for the aspiring writer, and there’s so much to do. You have set up accounts with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linked-in, Google +, Goodreads, just to name a few. You have to be active and get yourself out there. But that’s a lot of work.

So what does it mean to be an author these days? It means a lot of work, which most authors wish they didn’t have to do. We just want to write, but it doesn’t work that way now.

have fun,
Patty
www.pattylesser.com
@PattyLesser

Koalas

 

Sorry about last week. I totally forgot to write a blog. I remembered on Wednesday. Decided to wait until Monday since I'm trying to keep it regular.

I've just been busy with my books. Finally finished Devouring Time, a mystery, about an historic Canadian family, embroiled in the art world, await the delivery of a mysterious package from their ancestor in England. It has now gone to Nate, my proofreading editor. It will be returned edited in approximately six weeks.

My other novel, The Perfect Hand, a thriller about five poker buddies who uncover a conspiracy, is complete. I just finished correcting Nate's edits and suggestions. I have sent it out to a couple of friends to read it over now to check for any typo or mistake we missed. It's amazing how many fresh eyes you need to read a book before its as perfect as you can get.

I wanted to write a lighter blog this week since the last one was pretty heavy. I just have those thoughts now and then, and felt like sharing them. Today, I thought we could talk about koalas. I have a photographer friend in Perth, Australia, who is constantly informing me how many koalas are in the trees around his house. One day he had 12!!

The other day, he noticed one fall out of a tree. He was chatting with me at that time. He went outside to see what was the matter. He picked up the sick koala and brought it into his house. He gave it water and placed it on his bed. Within minutes, it was sound asleep and snoring loudly. My friend called the local Koala rescue centre. They came and picked up the poor thing. They were able to restore it to health and it was set free.

When I was in Australia in 1993, I visited many zoos where I saw lots of koalas. I never saw them in the wild. At one zoo, I had myself photographed with one. I wanted to hold it but the woman in charge said that would not be possible because koalas could scratch you badly with their long nails or pee on you. But when talking to my Perth friend, they seem gentle and sweet.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Have fun,
Patty
www.pattylesser.com
@PattyLesser

Devastating Death

How would you manage after losing your children to an accident? How would you survive the death of your children? One minute, you are a family of five and now its just you and your spouse.

In Red Deer, Alberta, sisters Catriona (Catie) Janine Bott, 13, Jana Nicole Bott, 11, and Dara Janisse Bott, 11, suffocated after they were buried in canola seed inside a truck on October 13, 2015.

Those parents lost their 3 daughters at one moment. I could never imagine how they feel.

Or for the couple who lost their 3 children and father in a car accident in Vaughan on Sunday, September 27 with a drunk driver. The children were nine-year-old Daniel Neville-Lake, his younger brother Harry, 5, and two-year-old sister Milly.

“So far it’s been like a dream – very surreal, as if you can catch glimpses of the children out of the corner of your eye, or you hear them,” Jennifer Neville-Lake said in an interview with CP24.

I can't imagine that loss. Smack and your life is upside down. Your whole life changes. Everything you originally thought is destroyed. Every plan you made, every decision, every hope for the future is derailed. I just shake my head wondering how those parents will manage.

I've been pretty lucky in life when dealing with death. A friend in high school was hit by a train and that affected everyone in grade 11. I had a boyfriend in Australia die from a grand mal seizure. I wasn't with him at the time and I've always felt guilty about that. And I remember holding my grandfather's hand as he died.

I truly believed that if anyone could return from the dead it would be Houdini. If anyone could trick death, I thought he could. But he didn't come back. I guess I'll just have to die to find out what's next, but that will hopefully occur far down the road.

What are your thoughts on death?

have fun,
Patty
www.pattylesser.com
@PattyLesser

What's your Favourite Meal?

Ever since watching The Green Mile as John Coffey was offered anything he wanted to eat for his last meal, I've often wondered what I'd have for a last meal. It's a question I've often put to people. I'm usually informed that steak is their favourite. Many say some kind of seafood. Lots say pasta. What about you? What's your favourite meal?

Mine is my mother's roast beef with roast potatoes and onions usually with steamed green beans. It's a wonderful meal and luckily mom makes it often during the colder months. (She doesn't like to turn the oven on in summer.)

My next favourite meal is steak. I prefer it cooked medium with mashed or baked potato. Actually, I'll eat potatoes any way, except raw. I love potatoes and can eat them all the time. My next favourite meal is anything ethnic. I love Japanese, Korean, Greek, Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, Thai, etc. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of Italian and pasta though it seems many people enjoy it the most.

It's worth travelling if even just for the food. I would love to travel to Greece or India and eat Greek and Indian food all the time. That would be great. When I lived in Israel, I ate many different kinds of foods coming from all over the Middle East. My favourite was a Yemenite place that served this huge pancake called Melawa (I think) and a special tomato dipping sauce. It was fantastic. Haven't had it since 1985.

In my first year of high school, my best friend was Chinese. After school, I was often invited to her house to do homework. And after homework was dinner and I was welcomed to partake. They had no cutlery so I had to learn how to use chopsticks which I learned fast because the food was so good. Sally's parents owned a restaurant but the food they made at home was nothing like the "restaurant" food. Very fond memories. I also learned a bit of Mandarin because Sally's grandparents didn't speak any English.

Different foods or meals bring lots of memories which I'm sure happens with you too. Do you have any food memories?

have fun,
Patty
www.pattylesser.com
@PattyLesser

Swearing In

I've been told many times to write my blog regularly. I have been a bit sporadic but, from now on, I will write a blog every Monday.

On Wednesday, December 2nd, I'll be travelling to Ottawa via hired bus to watch Filomena Tassi (the winning Liberal candidate for my riding) swear in as a member of parliament. This is a memorable and exciting event and I'm so lucky and pleased that I've been given a chance to be involved. She has invited everyone who volunteered during her successful campaign.

Seeing Justin Trudeau being sworn in on TV was spectacular. We want to believe in him and trust him to be the best prime minister ever. Maybe even greater than his father? He picked a wonderful cabinet made up of 15 men and 15 women, and people from all walks of life and backgrounds. It is a promising and positive government. So far, Justin is doing great and everyone is happy.

Going to Ottawa for Filomena's swearing in will take all day. We are to meet at 6:45 am to catch the bus. We arrive in Ottawa at noon. The spectacular event takes place at 3:30 pm. Then we all go out to dinner to celebrate. We arrive home by midnight. One long but very thrilling day.

I'm so proud that I volunteered and voted for Filomena. She is truly a brilliant and wonderful person. Her office is next door to my vet. My mom bumped into her when she took Kira to the vet after she had been attacked. Mom got to know Filomena and told me about her. I met Filomena after numerous visits to the vet. (Kira is my dog but stayed at my parents for a couple of days last March and was attacked by their neighbour's dog. She had 3 operations but doing great now.)

So I got to know Filomena as a person first. Her warm and generous personality oozes from every pore. Her great intelligence is immediately obvious and she treats everyone as an equal. She has a beautiful golden retriever named Ella and has always been concerned about Kira. She greeted her so warmly the other day and was pleased she had healed so well.

My stomach is twisting and churning in excitement for Canada. These are thrilling times. Even though I travelled around the world and lived in many places, I have always been Canadian first. I was always proud to divulge my citizenship and because of same was well treated by the natives. With Justin as Prime Minister and someone as wonderful as Filomena in government, there is nothing but optimism.

My 4th novel A Discerning Heart is now available on Amazon. Its part romance, part fantasy, part cautionary tale. A rollicking story of an Old World fisherman who looked for love and acceptance but settled for power and wealth. Throw in a mysterious island and even more mysterious mermaid and an enchanting story emerges. Sex, lies and a long missing pirate’s identity are all major plot points in this fantastical adventure.

have fun,
Patty
www.pattylesser.com
@PattyLesser

Who's Your Editor?

I always find it difficult to find topics to write in blogs. I want to find something interesting and positive. I hope you're interested in my subjects and find a reason to continue reading my blog and then hopefully buy my books. If you'd like me to write about something, please let me know.

I often like to write about people in my life who have influenced me. Here's another.

Andi was recommended to me through another editor. I thought I could write a book then publish it. I knew I needed an editor but just for proofreading. He suggested I hire a developmental editor to help with the novel. I was sceptical but followed up and got in contact with Andi. I sent her a few chapters of A Discerning Heart and loved her suggestions. I felt she was spot on and when I corrected the novel, it definitely improved.

With a virtual handshake, Andi became my primary editor. I send her a chapter at a time. She reads through it and makes comments and suggestions. I make the corrections and return it to her for review along with the next chapter. We proceed this way all through the whole finished novel.

When I first receive back my edited chapters, I read through what Andi has written. I fret and fume over the changes. Then I start at page one and along with my novel make the corrections. Andi's words make me think and write better. I love the edits I've made and am prouder of the finished product.

Since A Discerning Heart, Andi and I have worked through That Truthful Place as well as my next and upcoming novel The Perfect Hand (about 5 poker buddies who uncover a conspiracy) which will be published in a month or two.

Through Andi's edits, I've learned so much about writing. She has helped me with Point of View which can be difficult at times. Sometimes I repeat myself or not describe the scene well enough. She reminds me to add action or a pause in the dialogue.

Not only does she help me improve, she is very inspiring. Once in a while, we chat over Skype. She is always positive and enthusiastic. After we hang up, I'm always encouraged to write and work on my books. She has often sent inspiring emails that seem to come at the most needed time.

I would never publish another novel without going through Andi. She is very special and I feel lucky and honoured to work with her. If you're looking for an editor, please check out her site: www.andilit.com.

have fun,
Patty
www.pattylesser.com
@PattyLesser