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Posts Tagged ‘Jonathan Eli’

One year ago today, I lost my best friend, Arlene. Author Jonathan Eli lost his wife. I told him today that I wanted to do a blog post in memory of her, but I was afraid I would cry all the way through it. But here it is. She was a breast cancer survivor, and she beat that, but she never felt good after the radiation and chemo, even after five years. A year ago, she died from blood clots in both lungs. No one could ever figure out exactly how that happened, but I suspect it had something to do with the fact that she sat too much and didn’t get up and move around. That was mainly due to a bad knee. That’s why I wrote a PSA blog post on blood clots a while back. We don’t know why things happen the way they do. I just think maybe she was so special, God decided it was time for Him to have her. 🙂

Arlene always kept her sarcastic sense of humor through all the bad times with her health. Sometimes, I think about something stupid I do, and I can just hear her up there making fun of me. Every time I play a Big Fish game, I think of how I wish I could tell her about it. We both loved those games. One year, when I went to her house to visit for a week, she and I played those games for hours. I’m always thinking “I need to tell Arlene_____” then I remember she’s gone. But I sometimes tell her anyway, although anyone around me would think I was talking to myself.

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know what I’m feeling today. Part of me is sad. Part of me just remembers her fondly and has to smile at all the funny stuff we did together. And there’s a LOT of that. I miss her very, very much, but someday I’ll see her again. I hope she’s not giving the angels too hard of a time. LOL. Here’s to you, Arlene. I’ll always love you.

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I submitted my files to CreateSpace just a few days ago. Yesterday, I got the proof copy back. They are so quick! They were the same way when I did a print book for Jonathan Eli. I was very pleased with the way the book looked. The cover that Anya and I agonized over looked fine. So Haunted Lake is now available in the CreateSpace Store and will be available at Amazon in just a few days. Squee!

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Today I submitted Haunted Lake to CreateSpace for a print version. I’m really nervous, and I think my cover designer, Anya Kelleye, is nervous, too. The cover is going to be iffy. I love it, but sometimes there’s an issue with color on this particular cover. And it looks different on the computer screen than it does when I print it out on our color laser here at work. Also, I hope all the errors in the interior have been fixed. When Anya and I did the print version for Jonathan Eli’s book, The Last Cabbandeum, we were delighted at how it turned out. Her cover was perfect. The interior I did looked great. So, hopefully, we did okay on this one. If not, we can always redo it and order another proof. It costs more to do that, but it has to be right.

After this, I’m going to work on getting Starfane in print. Then, I’m going to do a three novella set in one book with Club Blood, See Me, and Guardian Vampire. I may have said this before, but I joked about calling it “Loving the Dead and the Undead”. :0)

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My goal is to average 500 words per day and to work on a short story when I can. As of yesterday, I was 432 words ahead of my cumulative goal. So I’m pretty happy about that. I haven’t worked on the short story yet, but that’s secondary and not a big deal. It’s going to be a freeby anyway. I’ve also gotten Haunted Lake very close to being formatted for print. The page numbers were kicking my butt, but I finally got them to cooperate. That should be out in paperback in a couple of weeks.

I got Jonathan Eli’s book, The Last Cabbandeum, on CreateSpace in paperback and it should be on Amazon soon. Anya Kelleye did a great job with the cover. When I got the proof copy, it was awesome!

I’ll check on the rest of you this afternoon after church and lunch. 🙂

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A Sad Trip

This weekend I’m visiting Jonathan Eli who lost his wife (and my best friend) last month. I’m here with my best friend’s sister and mother, who are also like family to me. This is the first time I’ve set foot in this house since she’s been gone (it’s almost 500 miles away from my home), and as soon as I walked in, it didn’t feel right. Her absence hit me like a ton of bricks. There were some neighbors here at that time, so I had to go outside and cry. I refused to cry in front of strangers, but I was about to lose it, so I went outside with the dogs. I came back in after the neighbors left, and we all had a moment. This has been a hard trip. We had to go through a lot of her things, especially her jewelry and her craft items. Today, we went to church with Jon, and that was hard, too. I go to that church every year when my husband and I come up here for our annual visit, so it was very hard to be there without her. I’ve had a few moments this weekend where I couldn’t hold back the tears, but nothing as bad as when I first stepped into the house. We’re leaving in the morning, and I have mixed feelings about that. I’ll miss Jon, of course, but I’ll also be a little bit relieved to leave the house that feels so wrong without my friend. We’ve had a good visit, in spite of the circumstances, and we have been able to have a few laughs while we were here.

I just want to say that if any of you reading this has a friend that means the world to you, please don’t take her/him for granted. Spend as much time as possible with your friend, and talk often. Savor every moment and realize how precious it is. I’m glad I’m able to say that I did, and I don’t regret anything except the fact that she lived so far away. But we loved AOL Instant Messenger. 😉

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Yes, I’m a day late again. I seem to be late every Wednesday lately. LOL.

I got another chapter edited on Dark Relic: Vampires’ Curse. But I’m way behind on my projected release date. I’m glad I didn’t make an announcement. Some of my other author friends have taught me not to do that. :0)

I’m about ready to submit The Last Cabbandeum to CreateSpace for Jonathan Eli. I’m waiting on Jonathan to tell me for sure what he wants on the back cover so Anya Kelleye can get that done. I have a little tweaking to do on the inside, but that’s a one night job.

I’m a little frustrated with my editing situation, but I was out of town for four days and this week we have VBS. Yes, I’m teaching the little first and second graders. Scary, isn’t it?

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My two good friends, Jonathan Eli and Michelle DePaepe have brand new books out just in time for the Christmas rush.

Jonathan’s novel, Memphis Connection, can be found on Amazon and Smashwords

Michelle’s novella, Eaters, can be found on Amazon and will be uploaded to Smashwords and B & N soon.

I enjoyed Memphis Connection and can’t wait to read Eaters. The cover of Eaters already gives me the shivers. :0)

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Jonathan Eli! Jonathan has won a free copy of The Gardener by Michelle DePaepe. He already has a copy of Guardian Vampire, so I guess I’ll just have to figure out something else to give him. LOL

Jonathan, I’ll give you the code for The Gardener on Smashwords.

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There are a few things happening in December that I want to share with you.

First, I’m going to interviewing, here on the blog, Michelle DePaepe, author of the paranormal thriller, The Gardener. I really enjoyed that book and can’t wait to read more by her. A little birdy told me she’s working on something else right now.

Second, I’ll be releasing a novella before Christmas and possibly a novel as well. More information on those in a day or two.

Third, Jonathan Eli, author of the science fiction novel, The Last Cabbandeum, will be releasing a crime novel/murder mystery soon. I’ll also have more about that soon.

November was busy with NaNoWriMo. December will be editing, editing, editing….

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Saturday is going to be MY time. If someone wants me to do something, this time I’m just going to say no. I’ve had various things I’ve had to do on Saturdays, and I promise, I really didn’t mind. Most of them were fun things, things I could do to help someone else. But this Saturday is mine. I have to:

1. Write a decent amount for my NaNo novel so I won’t get any farther behind. In fact, I hope I’ll catch up by Saturday.

2. Finish Guardian Vampire, a novella that only lacked a chapter or two being finished before NaNo started.

3. Do a lot of editing on Jonathan Eli’s novel since he wants to get it out by Christmas.

4. Then maybe do some editing on Guardian Vampire, which also needs to be done by Christmas.

If I get those four things done, I’ll feel like I’ve accomplished a lot. And maybe I’ll reward myself by playing a computer game or watching Buffy. Or maybe taking a nap if I’ve gotten up early that morning. Saturday is mine!

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