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Post by charlie on Jan 19, 2016 11:25:51 GMT -5
The ax fell last Sunday. Our bishop comes up to me and shakes my hand. This is something we do every Sunday. And then it happened. "Would you be willing to speak in Sacrament with me on the 31st?" Momentary hesitation on my part as he continued to hold my hand in a firm embrace. "Of course," I replied. So I guess I'm giving a talk in Sacrament with our Bishop. My assigned topic is Citizenship. I did query him concerning the amount of time he needed hoping I'd only have to prepare for 5 or so minutes. At this point my mind is swirling and all kinds of thoughts are vying for attention. I believe he grasped my shoulder and simply shook his head. Having said all that I'm looking forward to the opportunity. Wish my luck. Pray for me.
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Post by paulwest on Jan 19, 2016 17:32:07 GMT -5
Sounds scary, but I suspect that's not the first time you've been asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting, and I just got done speaking with my wife.
Right now, we are trying to decide what kind of mission we want to fill while the Jordan River Temple is closed for renovation.
And, oh yes. The biggest news. My son's wife just gave us our 14th grandchild. We now have 9 grandsons and 5 granddaughters.
I'm still struggling to find a free minute to write. My wife isn't crazy about me writing during the evenings or weekends, and I simply don't have time during my lunch breaks, which is when I used to write. But since selling my novel, I've been so busy with marketing I can't find a free minute to write.
Well, good luck with your talk. I know you'll do great. Citizenship is an exciting subject. I wish I could be there to hear you speak. I'll pray for you.
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Post by charlie on Feb 1, 2016 15:02:17 GMT -5
My talk went well. I was speaking with our Bishop. I felt bad that I only left him about 10 minutes. I received several positive comments so I guess it was okay.
You're way ahead of my wife and I with grandchildren. We have four. 3 grandsons and a granddaughter. Congrats on #14.
My home teacher gave me the first two books of The Storm Testament series to read. Surprisingly, I haven't read them before. Do you remember those books? The author is Lee Nelson.
My wife has been staying at her parent's place to help her father's recuperation. He is home and getting stronger, but still needs help.
Hope all is well with you and yours, Paul.
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Post by paulwest on Feb 9, 2016 19:25:34 GMT -5
The Storm Testament. I remember reading the first few books in the series, but never finished. I thought they were good reads, though. I got as far as the Mountain Meadow Massacure. I thought his insights were good, putting the blame on the right people.
My book seems to be selling good, but I can't tell for sure. I won't get any royalties until March, and that will only tell me how well it's sold between October 6 and December 31, which won't give me any indication how it's doing now. But, I think it's doing OK. Not a best seller yet, but OK
Hope all is well with you and your family too. Paul
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Post by charlie on Feb 15, 2016 16:33:42 GMT -5
I hope you and your wife had a good Valentine's day. We went to church then came home where we spent the remainder of the day. A young sister in our ward is going to Japan on a mission. She gave her talk yesterday. It put down about 8 inches of snow here yesterday so my wife and I (and neighbors) spent part of the Sabbath cleaning driveways.
I've done some significant writing over the past couple weeks. Between 5000-8000 words, although I haven't really watched the count. I've mostly been writing on Origin of Storms, but I did also retool the beginning of Dark Tornado with a new approach adding about 900 words there. I hope the energy (and the muse) stay with me for awhile.
Hope all is well in your world. Hope you're finding some time to write. Take care.
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Post by paulwest on Feb 17, 2016 19:26:05 GMT -5
Life's good here. We had just the opposite - we had a girl come home from her mission to Tongans in San Diego. Poor girl didn't want to come home, but she had to for medical reasons - Lupus.
I'm still struggling to find a few minutes to write. It's not that I don't have the muse, I simply can't find a free minute. Learning how to market my published novel is taking all my lunch breaks. I did find a few minutes last week, and spent it reviewing what I've already written. People are telling me to forget Bridgetown High and go to work on GERTA! but I can't bring myself to do that just yet. My first royalty payment should come in a couple of weeks. Maybe that will give me some idea what I should do. But, I don't expect it to be very big. It only covers from October 6 to December 31. Probably not my biggest sales period.
With the closing of the Jordan River Temple, my wife and I are looking for new opportunities to serve. I want to serve in the Family History Library, but not sure I can devote the amount of time they require. I need to pray about it I guess.
Good talking to you. Hope your family is all well. Paul
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Post by charlie on Mar 15, 2016 11:57:28 GMT -5
I'm surprised this site stays active with its limited use. Having said that I'm glad I have a chance to stay in touch with you, Paul, away from Facebook and the other social media sites. It is easier to talk about writing, the church and our families here, at least for me. Sorry I haven't been in touch for awhile. We had our ward conference last Sunday. Writing on my new MS continues on at a slow pace, but it is at least moving forward. My wife and I were in Salt Lake last weekend to pick up her sister and husband from the airport. We were in West Valley for a couple hours doing some shopping while we waited for them to land.
I received word one of my aunt's passed away last Friday. Her name was Maxine. She was my mom's sister and lived near Vancouver. I'll miss her even though I didn't get to see her too often.
Looking forward to general conf. in a few weeks. Have heard Pres. Monson's health is failing. I hope he's there. Hope you and your family are well, Paul. Keep in touch. Hope Bridgetown is doing well.
Charlie
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Post by paulwest on Mar 22, 2016 18:30:25 GMT -5
I agree with you, Charlie, about the privacy with this board.
Sorry to hear about your aunt. As I get older, I am more and more aware of my own mortality.
With the closing of the Jordan River Temple, my wife and i are out of a job. So, we're both looking for other ways to serve, such as a mission. I'm going to begin working with the FamilySearch office as a WIKI editor. I didn't know what a WIKI is until now, but I think it will be rewarding. Evidently WIKI is a forum where anyone can contribute data and other information. However, it can be used for bad too, as anyone can delete the info or corrupt it.
Bridgetown High is going OK. Not great, but OK. I got my first royalty payment a couple of weeks ago -- not a huge amount, but at least it's better than a kick in the pants.
All four of our children are going to be moving sometime this summer. My wife and I will be doing our best to help, meaning a lot of traveling.
Catch you later, Paul
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Post by charlie on May 1, 2016 23:42:27 GMT -5
So sorry it has taken me so long to post here. Today is ours twins birthday. They are 31 today. May 1. Our son and wife live in Cheyenne so we spent a few days out there last week with him. Today we went to Rigby to a baby blessing and then came home to have a BBQ with our daughter and her boyfriend. I've also been busy with work and church, as well as my normal being lazy. How are things going for you?
Also, in a couple weeks my wife and I are driving to Seattle area to pick up my brother and his belongings. He is moving down here to Pocatello.
Because of all these things going on I haven't been able to write for some time. I still hold out hope I can finish this current project. We'll see.
We drove by the Star Valley temple on our way home from Cheyenne. It looks beautiful. Almost done with the exterior. I think it's going to change that valley.
Well, I hope all is well for you and your family, Paul. I know you won't be as lazy as I seem to be in responding. take care
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Post by paulwest on May 3, 2016 15:49:35 GMT -5
Hi Charlie,
I check about every week to see if there's a message from you. I'm glad you don't give up. Like you said it's much easier here to talk about writing, church, family, etc.
I'm now volunteering at Family Search to help edit their WIKI files. Lots of busy work, not much in the way of doing family history. I'll keep helping as long as I can, but it does take up much of my evenings and weekends.
Bridgetown High isn't selling much. February's royalty statement got me about $3.00. Oh, well. I've decided I need to write a sequel. They tell me that helps to sell the first before buying the second, which, if it's of good quality, they will also purchase.
Did you see Gary McAlister's post on Face Book? He finally published his book about science and religion. I'm excited to get a copy.
Sounds like your family is keeping you busy. Mine is too. We have all 4 of our children moving this summer. My wife and I are wondering how we can help them. Probably can't. But it will keep us busy helping where we can.
Well, I have a meeting in 10 minutes, and I need to prepare. Talk (write) to you later.
Paul
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Post by charlie on May 23, 2016 13:18:38 GMT -5
Hi Paul, (and, of course, anyone else who may be eavesdropping)
Got back from our trip to Everett, WA to pick up my brother and his belongings. It was a quick turnaround. Got there Sunday night and started back Monday about noon. Stopped in Boise coming home due to my uncle being in the hospital there. Life back to normal again. Work and church and family and some writing (not much). Our grandson graduated from Kindergarten.
Hope all is well, Paul.
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Post by paulwest on May 31, 2016 16:05:36 GMT -5
Hi Charlie,
Sounds like you had a busy time, instead of a holiday. We had a crazy holiday too. On Friday, I helped my eldest son, his wife, and his 6 kids move from a house in American Fork to a house in Saragoga Springs. Then, in 3 months, we'll move him to a different house in Am Frk so his kids can stay in their current school. Then, in November, we're looking forward to him and his family to a house he's having built in Am Frk. I'm still trying to recoup from all the work. Then, my wife and I had them over for a BBQ. I was almost glad to come back to work -- looking forward to retirement in a year and a half, ha ha ha.
So, how's the writing going? I hope you're setting aside at least an hour each day. Don't feel bad if you can't do that. I can't either.
My main goal right now is to get Bridgetown High to sell. It ain't going fast. I think in the past 3 or 4 months I may have sold 4 or 5 e'books. Not exactly impressive. I'm considering giving it away for a week or two to get its ranking in Amazon up and they will then put it on their recommended list. That's supposed to help. I'm still thinking it over.
Well, I better go. Keep in touch.
Paul
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Post by charlie on Jul 4, 2016 16:14:24 GMT -5
Happy 4th of July!! Sorry I've been so long in posting. June was hectic and went by so quick. My wife said where did June go? I have to agree with her. My brother from Arizona came for 3 days and we took a drive to Jackson, WY (about 2 and a half hrs). He'd never been there. We had other events as well on top of work, church, and just trying to be lazy. Our grandsons were in the parade this morning so we went to see them.
I was surprised when I saw one of my short stories sold a copy in Brazil. I only charge .99 cents for most of them. I haven't had time to work on new material.
Well, I hope your summer is going good. Not too hot there? Keep writing!
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Post by paulwest on Jul 13, 2016 17:36:45 GMT -5
Hi Charlie,
I guess I too am negligent in responding, but I love hearing from you.
Our 4th was great. We had most of our family and went up to the Oquirrh Hills Temple grounds to watch the fireworks. It's a great spot.
About a week before that, for the first time in a looooong time, we got ALL of our children and grandchildren together in one place at the same time. A miracle. We scheduled a professional photographer and FINALLY got a family portrait.
As for my writing, I've started work on the sequel to Bridgetown High (BTH). It's going slow, but I simply don't have time to work on it. I miss my old critique group. I could bounce ideas off them and get some good advice. I'm convinced that's what made BTH as good as it is. So far, I've got about 20 pages written, but a lot of that is fluff I need to cut out. I think I have 3 or 4 opening scenes written that I have to narrow down to one.
Aside from writing, I'm trying to market my book as well. Over the last two weekends I had a free promo site I found on the internet promote my book. I dropped the price to $0.99. I have no idea if it did any good or not. I simply can't figure out how to find out.
Well, good luck with your writing. It's addictive, but in a good way.
Write back soon. I love hearing from you. Paul
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Post by charlie on Jul 25, 2016 11:30:05 GMT -5
Hi Paul,
I saw where Barnes & Noble are accepting books at their stores from self published authors. I wonder what their parameters are. They probably only shelf books that are already selling good online. In any case I thought that was interesting. Shows them opening up to a changing trend. I don't expect any of my books in B & N but one never knows. Perhaps I should approach the local store for their response. At least see who makes the decisions.
How are things going with work, family and church? I am, of course, keeping busy. My wife went to Cheyenne this weekend to see our oldest son and his family. I had to work so stayed home. I miss her when she's gone. Our bishop just had back surgery last week. He attended sacrament yesterday but went home after that.
Hope all is well with you and your family. Keep writing. Keep in touch.
Charlie
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