These Weeks In Review

It's been a wild ride for me over the last couple of weeks. I've been so addled and inundated with work that I haven't had time to sit down and really just write it all down. Having done so just prior to blogging, I must say it's quite odd to think that I packed all these events into basically the last two weeks.

* Those of you who are new to my friends list won't know this, but a couple of weeks ago, I lost a dear family member, Lee Hobbs. He was my grandfather's cousin, so we are distantly related, but we've always been relatively close. He left behind his second wife and two daughters. Not only was he a family member. I have been living in a duplex he owned for the last 4 or 5 years. When I moved back to Texas, Lee was gracious and generous enough to let me live here at a monthly rental rate that is probably 2/3 what he could have gotten from anyone else in today's market. He didn't need the money. He let me live here because I needed a home. His generous spirit will never be forgotten.

* Just days after Lee's passing, my dear friend Julie Cain called me with news that her father had passed away. Andrew Cain was 84 years old. He was a scout master, a church leader and a science teacher to generations of children. To say he was a great man is one of the biggest understatements of the century. He was inventive. He was creative. He was fun. He was interesting. He was inspiring. In the last several years, I'd managed to lose touch with so many folks, as people tend to do over the years. Sadly, I never got a chance to tell Mr. Cain how much I loved and appreciated him. I do hope he knows it now.

*As many of you know (if you read my bulletin this morning) Little Man passed his TAKS test. As I explained, the TAKS test is Texas' version of the state standardized testing system meant to help us compete with the standards set by the national government. Supposedly it means we're just as smart as Japanese kids and what not. I'm not sure if it's necessarily an accurate depiction of that, but I do know that my son is intensely smart, curious and creative and I couldn't be a prouder papa if I tried! WOOT WOOT!

* April 27th and 28th, I attended the writer's conference for the North East Texas Writer's Association (NETWO). The conference was held at Lake Bob Sandlin, specifically at Camp Shiloh. You talk about a beautiful place! If nothing else, two days there got my writer's juices flowing just because of the scenery! But in all honesty the conference itself was tremendous! I got to network with close to 100 of the friendliest and most talented writers I've ever known, including Dusty Richards, Joe Lansdale, Betsey Haynes and Jane Graves, (Who was mortified to learn that she'd named a character after my ex-wife, but it was a hilarious revelation nonetheless! And she did assure me that the character who holds my ex-wife's name goes through hell and back before finally developing a redeeming character for which she is rewarded with a decent life. I figure I can live with that. At least she has to reach rock bottom first.)

The conference also included Editor and Publisher Stacey Barney from Putnam, Miriam Goderich, a New York literary agent and Miriam Hees, a publisher from Austin, Texas. While I did not get a one-on-one with Ms. Barney, I had the honor of hearing her speak and was very much entertained and informed. Mrs. Goderich was gracious enough to offer me a few minutes of her time. She gave me invaluable feedback on my manuscript idea and on the Mendez series in general. Needless to say I left the meeting a much better writer, just having spent time with her. Mrs. Hees agreed to read a sample of my work and had glowing things to say. She told me I really know how to "write a good sentence..." going on to say "That sounds like a strange way for me to start off, but basick good sentence structure is not always easy to find..." Needless to say I could have stopped reading her remarks right there and been just fine! (But I didn't stop there and I gained very valuable advice from her as well.) She suggested a few minor changes. (Agreeing with Mrs. Goderich on some things, disagreeing on others, which just proves the industry is very subjective.) Still, I took all of their advice to heart and have incorporated it into an update to the manuscript. After incorporating the changes Mrs. Hees and Mrs. Goderich suggested, Mrs. Hees actually agreed to pass my manuscript on to her Adult book editor. (Mrs. Hees mostly deals with the children's book side of things, but has a guy that deals more with books geared towards adults.) Of course this doesn't guaranty publication, but it's the most promising thing that's happened to my career in a long time, so I'm pretty stoked. I don't know if I should have let the cat out of the bag before I even sent her the polished manuscript, but I am very excited and I will be excited whether she agrees to publish me or not. The fact is she liked my work enough to agree to pass it on to her associate. That in and of itself tells me I'm worth something. Now if I just had an agent to help me negotiate a good contract! Anyone??? Anyone??? (Insert the sound of crickets here.)

* Grandma continues to improve, but she still doesn't really have all her marbles about her. Honestly I don't know if she ever will. Let's face it. She's 85 years old. She's lived a wonderful -- if hard -- life and has been the rock and the faith-filled matriarch of this Bible Belt, God-loving family for a number of years. Eventually torches have to get passed and others need to step up. I think that's what society has forgotten. In Biblical times, the eldest son(s) stepped up to take over when the father got too old or feeble. Likewise, the eldest daughters or daughters-in-law took over out of respect for an aging mother. Society is so different these days. Nowadays most families are two-income families. They can't function without both Mom and Dad holding down a job. It's not like it was when Grandma and Grandpa were raising kids. Grandpa killed himself, working 16 to 20 hour shifts (so it's rumored) at Lone Star Steel. Likewise, my Uncles Bill and Marion followed their dads into business for a few years, helping bring money into the family. As for Grandma? She stayed home raising my mom and her brother Jerry. (Not sure if Uncle Jerry ever joined the crew at Lone Star Steel. It wouldn't have surprised me though. Seems everybody who grew up out there worked at Lone Star Steel at some point.)

Whatever the case, the fact is that the family survived on one income. My dad's family was much the same. His mom held down an occasional job. I know she was a nurse at one point. But by and large once kids came around, she was a stay-at-home mom. And it worked. They became very well-to-do thanks to the oil boom and the ever-increasing need for pipeline and construction work.

Today, you can't do that. A one-income family (like my cousins Jason and Angie) are such a rarety. It's more the exception than the rule. And so there is no one available to take over the reigns of "Matriarch" for my grandmother. There really isn't anyone with that kind of time anymore.

I thought technology was supposed to make our lives easier. I thought we were supposed to have shorter work days, larger paychecks and be living the Life of Riley. Well if this is the Life of Riley, let me tell you, Riley has a really crappy life!

Maybe it's just me, but it seems we're worse off today than we were 30 or 40 years ago. And if you doubt that, you need look no further than the space program. Forty years ago, we could land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth even if the craft gets struck by lightning during take off (See the Apollo 12 mission) Today, we can't even get a space shuttle off the ground because a hail storm hits south florida three days before launch. 1970's technology was good enough to save me from a doctor's prediction that I'd be dead by age 2. But 2007 technology can't even help me lose 40 or 50 lbs so that I can be healthier and help my son develop his baseball, basketball or football skills.

*Finally, this weekend is my book signing at Hastings in Longview. Samantha Branham (Author of The Tempest's Child) will be joining me in a meet-and-greet for our respective fans. I do look forward to meeting not only my fans but those of Samantha's growing fan base. Book signings are tremendous fun. I highly recommend them to anyone who's ever written a book. It's a great adrenaline rush.

Okay well that's the week(s) that was/were. It's a heck of a disorganized hodge podge of things, but it's pretty much everything that's been going on. My only other thing is American Idol. Phil Stacey shouldn't have gone home this week. He was finally coming into his comfort zone and yet America voted for that no talent Blake Lewis over Phil Stacey. Blake's rendition of the Bon Jovi classic was positiveley sacreligious if you ask me. You could tell in the interview that Jon Bon Jovi didn't like it and in all honesty neither did I!

Till next time, this blog is brought to you by the letters W, E and H and by the number 2