Notions of Promotions

 

A lovely promotion for Seven Aprils!

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A writer acquaintance of mine once achieved her lifelong goal...to have one of her books reach New York Times best seller list. This was a great promotion in her mind. She said, "Now I know how my obituary will start-- 'New York Times best-selling author...'"

In life as well as art, we receive many promotions. My dad served in the United States military (National Guard and Army) for much of his long life. He first achieved the rank of Sergeant. His men loved the way he looked after them and called him "dad" even though he was in his twenties. While in Europe during World War II, his superiors thought him officer material. They sent him for a crash course in recently liberated Paris, after which he became a lieutenant and back into the field of war with new duties. So, as he often laughed about later, a scrappy son of Irish and French Canadian immigrants from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, who dreamed of going to West Point, became a commissioned officer and a gentleman by way of the Sorbonne, Paris. What a promotion!

Sgt. Charbonneau

I love my promotion to mother. For the rest of my life, I will be known as the mother of three wonderful human beings, Abby, Marya, and Lawrence.

More recently, daughter Marya's decision to become a mother gave me another promotion...to grandmother. Wow, this one is totally undeserved and great fun! 

Desmond and his grandma up to no good together

In my work life, I was so pleased to be asked to become a co-author with Jude Pittman of the Canadian Historical Mystery Series. I've long been a reader and admirer of the series of novels based in the Canadian provinces that BWL publishes. So to be asked to contribute to it? A great honor and promotion!

What are the promotions of your life, dear readers? I hope you've had many and that they've brought you joy.

Past Promotions - Looking Back over the Years #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Promotions #Interviews

 

Past Promotions

 

Years ago and we’re talking about many of those years, the first promotion I received for a book sale was in the local newspaper, the Butler Eagle where we lived. I was interviewed by a reporter and the article started out with my sale. That took up two lines. Then the post went on to say I was married to Dr. Walters MD. The next two columns were all about him. I still laugh over this. He was so embarrassed.

 

The second took place in the same town. It was on a local television station, with phone in calls from listeners. The first thing was make-up. Since I’m very allergic, I brought mine and endured. The session was for two hours and I wasn’t sure how to fill the time. The host began by asking me questions about my writing and about selling my first of three books. We chatted about writing and how I moved from short stories to novels. Then the forum was open for questions. I thought no one would call. Surprisingly there were a number of calls. Some were from my friends but there were some serious called. I found I really enjoyed helping others find ways to write their stories. When the two hours ended, I was exhausted. I also found I’d created a problem. Though I’d worn a pants suit and boots, I wore panty hose. When I reached the house, I discovered this woman who had been complimented for being so calm during the interview had ripped out both feet of the hose. I vowed I would never do this again.

 

Fast forward a few years, probably fifteen. I was once again asked to do a television interview. This was in a town two and a half hours away. Reluctantly, I agreed. This was not a call in show but I was grilled by a man who thought romance wasn’t real literature. I believe I held my side very well and I challenged him to read one of my books and gave him a copy. Not sure if he read the book But a did receive a nice letter saying I had enlivened his evening.

 

Would I do this again. Maybe.

By the way the first books of all my series are on sale