Chapter One...The Ant Lion's Den

I am setting here looking at Chapter Two...The Ant Lion's Den,  the novel I started almost 2 years ago when Sherman was first diagnosed.  I had a good start on it, but at that time Sherman needed me more than the world needed another novel.  So I put it on hold.  Then he extracted a promise from me that I would write the story of Sherman and Lou had life been different.  He outlined it for me and in the book, we met, fell in love and lived happily ever after.  In real life he died shortly thereafter.
But a promise is a promise and I put the novel aside and began the perfect work of fiction and the world's greatest love story.  I failed in my mission and ended up writing a true story where we did indeed fall in love and he did propose 10 days before he died on Friday the 13th.  The book has been finished and forgotten now for over 8 months and I stare at the blank page of  Chapter Two and my mind is a complete blank..I reread what I have written hoping something of the brilliance I felt when I started it will resurface, but nothing happens.
What I am thinking of is a scene in my mind from 50 years ago when Debbie was a wee tyke and I found an old typewriter at a rummage sale for $2.00.  It was a small Royal and after I took the toothbrush and cleaned the letters and replaced the ribbon, it printed pretty legibly.  But there I sat, staring at the pure white paper that waited for me to fill up up with all the thoughts in my brilliant mind.   But it never happened.  I spent the next 50 years waiting for my stellar mind to unleash a torrent of words that would make the world fall at my feet.  But they never came.  The old Royal gave way to a nice aqua typewriter in a case.  That gave way to an electric, which was replaced by a word processor and that was traded for a computer.  And I went through a string of computers and different word programs before I poured my heart and soul into Chapter One...Loose Ends.  I was on a roll, but now I am back to staring at a blank sheet with a cursor blinking and calling me.
Someone told me I should unplug the phone, lock the door, turn off the ebay computer and concentrate and it will come.  Well, that ain't happening now, is it?  I do think I will take a nice long walk the next day that is decent.  May go up to Beulah for that.  Something about just me, God and the open sky above that inspires me.  Maybe I will not finish Chapter Two...The Ant Lion's Den, or maybe I will. Maybe I will come up with something else.  I do know that I love to write and it is a part of me that needs to be functioning.  I know this blog is writing, but I mean something that I can build out of my mind that is not real, but seems that way.  Know what I mean?
Just my thoughts tonight.

I am getting behind here!

Well, I was just checking my stats and happened to notice that I have not been on here for over a week!  That will never do.  Do not think that these little hands have been idle, because they have not!  My floors are laid and the contents are slowly making their way back into their respective positions.   They do not do this alone, you know!  And the little cold snap we have endured for God only knows how long has the goose tank frozen completely solid.  To the untrained goose herder, it sounds simple, but to the geese it is a crucial matter.  They need water to survive and when the temperature continues to hover below 32 degrees, any water I carry out there freezes.  This means I have to do it several times a day.  This is starting to take a toll on the back that was already headed out the door.
And eBay continues to be a thriving place in my world.  Granted I do not sell as much as Eric or other friends, but I do manage to send out a package or two every day.  That sounds simple, huh?  The package usually contains a seed catcher, lotion, or something that I have made or will need to make to order before it can get into the package.  Right now I am finishing up a big order for my new friend in Alabama. 
Well, that is not quite true.  Right now I am trying to figure out how I sent this post off into cyber world and got it back mostly gone.  If you ever run into anyone who thinks they are smarter than a computer and have Windows 8 all figured out, you just let me know, because I want to meet that person.  No one is smarter than this computer!
And there is that book I am working on.  Well, two of them actually.  I have put Chapter One...The Antlions Den on hold while I do the fantasy novel of what life would have been had I met Sherman earlier in life.  That is entitled Long ago and Not Very Far Away.  It can be found at http://delilahsdatingdilemma.blogspot.com/ .
Also life creeps in and maybe a grand kid comes by, or a step daughter, or the loom calls me to weave, or meet the kids for lunch, or Daisy wants to go to the vet, or Elvira needs groomed, and also three is that Weavers Guild meeting, lunch with a friend, grocery shopping or a myriad of other things that need my attention.
The next post will be the luncheon I had with the Catholic Sisters and the ministers from Colorado Springs.  I will have to do that on the downstairs computer, because I have not found a slot on this computer to put my camera card in so I can have pictures.  Always something here in the real world, isn't it?
Off to sew.

This is an unpaid advertisement!

I clicked on this today and what a surprise. I have now had 20,000 hits exactly. So I took that as an omen that I should promote my book. I worked very hard writing this and spent a lot of money publishing it and now I would like to sell it. So to the people out there who have boosted my readership up this high, here we go:
I am here to hopefully sell you my first and finest novel Chapter One..Loose Ends.

********************For Sale by owner*****************

From the back cover

Chapter One...Loose Ends
Lou Mercer

Meg Parker led a simple life.  She was a widow of three years and lived on a chicken farm at the foot of the mighty Rockie Mountains.  Life was good and her little store on eBay made her extra spending money.  But snow and wildlife were not the only things lurking in the forest above her house.  Nor did it stay in the forest for long.

Marshall Purcell came home a wounded veteran from vietnam.  He still had his dreams, but they were of an incestuous past that threatened to consume him.

When Meg and Marshall met it seemed an inconsequential meeting, but it changed both their lives forever.  And change is not always a good thing.

This is adult fiction at its best without all the sex.  Well, maybe just a little bit. 

About the author.  Lou Mercer was born in Nickerson, Kansas. She came to Pueblo, Colorado in 1977 and is now a product of the majestic Rockie Mountains.

And if you want to visit my struggling webstore go to  www.loumercer3.com

And see that paypal button up there?  It is for just that purpose and it will take you straigt to paypal where you will find an invoice.  You can pay that securely with any credit card and I will immediately mail you your copy.  If you would like it autographed just email me the message of who to and voila! 

Riverside Printing is my friendly printer!

When I decided that I really wanted to publish this book, I wanted to go local because Pueblo needs the money as bad as anyone else.  So I called several printing companies in search of one who did books and that included the "perfect binding" as opposed to the spiral.  I found one, took my info in the them and they promised a price.  Two days later I stopped in and the boss was still not in.  Couple more days and a couple more phone calls and still nothing.  After almost two weeks I renewed my quest.  And that is when I found Riverside Printing!

Here we are right on the corner of 9th and Elizabeth.  Riverside Printing. 

And here is Evelyn, who took my order, gave me a price and told   me all the little things I needed to know to make this book a reality!  Very nice lady.  I left my little flash drive with her and toddled on home, still raw from my first rejection.  Hopefully this one would want my money!

                                             

I was absolutely amazed when the phone rang that evening and Evelyn had a price for me!  I was astounded at the price, but then we discussed a larger quantity and the price began to fall.  My hat is off the that woman!  And then again when I ordered the books and said I would like a proof copy, I sat back to wait.  Soon I received a call for my original art work as it needed a bit of a tweek.  Emailed that over and sat back to wait.  Nothing on Friday, so I figured it would be another one of those deals.  Silly me!

The phone rang on Saturday afternoon.  Lady named Susie was at the golf course ready to tee off and had my proof in the car and if I would run by and pick it up she could get on with her game. I did not know that anyone in this town actually did business on Saturday!  So off I went and picked it up and the rest is history.   The pictures and barcode were perfect.  Inside looked good (I have since found a booboo, but that is my bad.) so we were good to go. 

I picked up 10 copies on Friday and those are already gone.  So I am waiting for Susie to crank up the presses and then I will launch the website and very soon you will have your copy in your hands!

One of my dreams has come true.

WHOOPS!!!



Chapter One....Loose Ends is almost a reality!

 This is my book!  Or this is the proof of my book.  It should go to print next week and I am very excited!  I am currently working on the website where I will be able to sell it.  In the meantime, if you want to reserve a copy email me at loumercer3@aol.com .  I am pretty sure I will have enough for all of you, but why take a chance? 

It sells for $14.95 if you are paying with a check or money order.  Cash will be $15.00 cause I do not want to carry a bunch of nickles around.  Sorry.  Be sure and remember that it is not printed yet so don't expect it the next day.  I will notify you when it is ready.  And when the website is set up I will give you that.  I know it but it would do you no good to go there cause there is nothing there.  I should be up and running the second week in July.  You can go look if you want.  http://loumercer3.com /  Hopefully I am actually smart enough to get this done.

This book is completely self published and I do not mean I paid some one to do it for me.  I wrote it.  I formatted it.  Jeanne Gardner edited it.  Kenna Mercer mostly designed the cover with a little help from Susie at Riverside Printing who will print and bind it.  I bought my own ISBN number and printed out my own barcode. 

So there you have it.  Good luck to me!