Same as It Ever Was

I feel a bit guilty even though I really have no reason to. I haven’t written a blog entry since roughly Thanksgiving. That’s a long time, but also the busiest time of year for me with my job. The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is usually a blur for me and this year was no exception. It’s put a damper on the holidays for me that I’m not sure I’ll ever get past—even more so than my retail career did. Which got me thinking…

I heard the song “Once in a Lifetime,” by the Talking Heads the other day and the lyrics hit me pretty hard. When I was young, they words were quirky; but when you’re fifty, it’s scary how profound they can be. I found myself asking, “Well, how did I get here?”

I thought I had escaped retail in 2002, and then found myself the co-owner of a store in 2007. I stepped into a silent-partner position with said store in 2013 in search of what I felt would be more stable career with the United States Postal Service. I had always wanted to write, and I felt that a job with regular hours would give me more free time to do so. And what could possibly be more a traditional and stable an institution as the good old USPS?

Well, it’s been three years and I am still a contracted employee—meaning, I can only be promoted based on seniority and not performance. I have memorized and can run fast and efficiently sixteen different routes, consisting of anywhere from 700 to 1000 deliveries per day. I do it well, better than several of the regulars, and yet I get paid less and can be let go from an annual contract at their whim.

That’s the American Dream for you.

I tell myself that the long hours are making me a better writer. I tell myself that when/if I ever do converted to a “regular” I will have more free time and they will not be able to schedule me 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, for six weeks in a row from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Yes, that does happen, and since I am contracted I have no choice but to say, “Yes, master,” and maintain my link in the chain of promotion.

But I am not bitter. No, seriously, I’m not. It’s been a learning experience and I’ve dealt with personalities that run the gamut. You couldn’t ask for more life experience and the character archive runs deep for future writing projects. My husband, Dennis, says that every stereotype begins for a reason. And I’m here to tell you that everything you’ve heard about government work is true.

I’ll spare you the details.

Just hope that before next holiday season I will be a part of the “regular” stereotype. Just kidding—my work ethic and integrity would never allow me to shun what so many there take for granted. But if I do finally grasp that golden ticket, you’ll be hearing a lot more from me and know that everything has paid off.

And, who knows? Maybe Christmas will eventually work its way back into my heart.

Shameless plugs:

The fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of my zombie apocalypse novel, “Will to Live: The Dead Next Door,” are now available for free on Wattpad. For those of you not caught up, the preceding chapters are available there as well. Just click here. Please vote and/or comment on it. Thanks for your support!

Stories available for purchase are on Amazon: click here. Thanks in advance for your purchase and please, please, please write an honest review.

See you soon!

TWS

I have fought with the idea of having a blog for a couple of years now. Granted, I could talk horror movies until the cows come home. I'm a bibliophile, worked a number of years for a large chain bookstore, and can talk about pretty much any category of fiction or nonfiction knowledgeably, if only in some cases, peripherally. I'm a music whore, indulge in pop culture observation and conversation, and have in the last decade, become quite an accomplished cook. But what can I say about these interests (obsessions) that hasn't already been said in hundreds of magazines already, not to mention a ba-zillion existing blogs?

Pretty much nothing.

I've read almost as many "how-to" books about the self-publishing industry as I have independently published zombie novels--and that's a fucking lot, as I have long been obsessed with that sub-genre (over 35 years now). I wish I could say the ratio for good-to-bad was 50-50, but it's closer to 20-80--for both. There's usually much emphasis on marketing and very little on quality of writing and workmanship. That doesn't bother me too much, because I've been writing for a long time and have confidence in my skills and what I create. What bothers me is that marketing, necessary evil that it is, takes away from my writing time.

That includes this blog.

So, I've had to make some rules for myself when writing blog entries. Whether they stick or not, we'll see. But the secret to success is adaptability, and I will commit to these rules loosely with that in mind. I see no reason in boring you with details of the constraints I am placing upon myself, but will reveal the most important one:

Keep it short.

I want to deliver maximum quality in minimum quantity. I strive to be the USA Today of the blogging world. In this era of Facebook pokes and Tweet wars, blog entries should not be overly long and boring. God knows, I've got more important things to do.... like get back to my social media.

And so, back to the legitimate answer of the question from the first stanza. What can I offer here that you can get no where else in the world? Me. My voice. It's aged, but served me well. Perhaps it will one day be of benefit to you.

That being said... I finished the McCammon book, The Border, and enjoyed it. I am currently reading Wait for Signs  by Craig Johnson, of the Longmire series. I have never read anything by Johnson previously, nor have I seen the Longmire television show. But I have to say, this book of short stories is great and I may be indulging in more. Recommendations?

I want to tell you about a dead guy I'm obsessed with but I'm out of time. Soon, I promise.

TWS