Chapter 1 - A Life Unplanned

Here is a snippet of my novel. I hope this will help you decide if this might be a good summer read!!
 

~~ CHAPTER 1 ~~

I never dreamed when I would lose my mom, it would be a heartbreaking mystery, one that would never be solved. 

“There is no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to say it,” Dad started. “Your mom has died,” he said to me.  “Who?” I said.  “Your mom,” he repeated.  Again I asked who?  “Your mom, Kate; Kate has died.”  Andy jumped out of his chair and came over to me, knelt down and repeated what my dad had just told me.  It would not register. I could not hear it.  I shut down and watched myself as if I was watching a movie.  Watching a movie meant it was not real. It was just a story—a Lifetime movie being played out on the TV screen. 

*   *   *   *

Andy and I were in Fort Lauderdale for a short trip.  We had just moved from Ohio to Idaho a few months earlier.  Andy was working with a group of doctors and attending an audiology meeting.  Since I was not yet working, I decided to go along.  My days were spent alone, since Andy was in meetings, but I was going to relax by the pool, read, maybe go for walks, even though I was not the type to venture out on my own.  I felt depressed that week and wanted to call Mom just to chat.  I even went back to our room and picked up the phone once or twice, but then I felt silly crying on her shoulder about being so homesick.  I did not want her thinking I was unhappy.  I knew this was a good move for us, for Andy’s career, and probably the homesickness would  slowly abate.  Mom would worry if I told her I was having a hard time adjusting. So I did not call.

I had called her before we left for Florida.  It was a Friday afternoon, and I wanted her to know we would be away for a few days.  She sounded great, sounded happy for us.  The last words I heard from her before we hung up were “Tell Andy I love him.”  I knew exactly why she said that.  She knew Andy felt bad about us leaving her.  We had been married for 17 years by that time, and she was used to us living near her. My brother and sister lived out of state, but Andy and I lived a few miles from her.  She rarely asked us for help. Mom was so independent and so adamant about not ever being a burden to her kids, especially since her mother-in-law was more than interfering.  So she fully supported this move for us. 

A few days before we left Akron for the last time, Mom threw a family party for us.  Pamela Joy and Patrick and the nephews and nieces were there, along with my cousins.  It was such a good time. I can remember at one point Mom was just sitting in her favorite chair watching all the activity.  There was such a sense of peace and happiness on her face, almost like a physical aura.  Family meant everything to her, and there was nothing better than having us all together.

On moving day, Mom stopped by and gave me a crystal creamer and pitcher. She wanted me to have something from her house for my new home.  I was surprised to see her drive up. She had a smile on her face as she stepped out of the car. 

“How’s it going?” she asked. 

“Okay,” I replied, “but it sure is taking longer than I thought it would. I guess we’ll get it done eventually, though.”

 “You’ll be on your way before you know it,” Mom replied. “I hope you don’t mind, but I brought you a little something I wanted you to have from my house to your new Idaho home.  It’s just one of my creamer and pitcher sets, but since it’s pretty plain, I thought it would look nice however you decorate the house.”  She might as well have given me diamonds, that gift was that precious to me. 

She did not stay long, because Mom never wanted to interfere, as if she could!  I didn’t  want her to leave because I didn’t know when I would see her again.   It had been such a great summer.  Andy left in early June for Idaho, and I stayed behind to hopefully sell the house.  Andy had accepted the job in the spring after we flew out there for an interview.  He went back for a quick trip to get a little bit of training in before he actually started.  When he got back, we spent six weeks doing a marathon update of the house.  We painted, wallpapered, pulled up carpeting.  Just about every nook and cranny of the house was spiffied up and looked perfect for selling.  The day Andy left for Idaho, I had a hard time saying good-bye.  I knew we would be together at some point, but not knowing how long that would be was really hard.  Andy told me later, as he was driving down the street from the home he grew up in and lived his married life for 17 years, that he could not fight back the tears. 

We moved to Idaho in October, but because both of us were not ready to spend the holidays alone, we came back to Ohio that November for Thanksgiving.  We went to my sister’s in Pittsburgh.  It had been a long time since the whole family was together for that day.  My brother and his kids came, and Pamela Joy’s kids were there, and even Mom’s first great-grandchild was there to celebrate the day, only a little over a month old.  It was an absolutely perfect day.  It was the last day we all spent together with Mom.  It was a gift from God.  There is no question in my heart and soul it was a gift from God.  He knew this would be our last time together. 

*   *   *   *

“What happened?” I said it so matter-of-factly that you would have thought my dad had just told me he dented his fender.  His reply was to call my sister, and she would give me the details.  So I called my sister, again acting as if I was checking up on a minor car accident.  She was scared for me and told my brother to call me, which he did.  He asked me if I was okay, to which I replied I was fine.  I was coming to Akron right away; Andy would make the arrangements.  Mr. Spock from Star Trek would have been proud of my logical demeanor.  I was fine, just fine.   I had lucked out big time.  Because my brother and sister had moved away when they married, I knew it would be up to me to deal with telling them when Mom was seriously ill or had died. They had taken care of me all of my life because Dad left the family when I was 9 months old.  So it was going to be my turn to help them through a difficult time. I would take care of Mom, take care of my brother and sister when the time came.  But that did not happen. I was the last person to find out Mom had died.   The last.  That was not how it was supposed to be. 

That week began with Pamela Joy trying to call Mom.  She was going through a nasty divorce and wanted to let Mom know about the next meeting with her ex and the lawyers.  She really did not want to call because Mom could be difficult to talk to about the situation, giving advice Pamela Joy did not want to hear or least was not ready to hear. Mom had been through a divorce and knew all too well what Pamela Joy was facing.  She tried Mom for a few days with no answer.  Mom had a busy, active life.  She volunteered at the hospital, got her hair done every week, went out frequently with her girlfriends. So it was no big deal when she did not answer the phone.  But by that Saturday when she still was not answering, it was time to worry.  A few other family members had been calling, too, wondering if Mom was traveling, visiting family maybe?

Pamela Joy called our cousin and asked if she would go over to the house.  Waiting to hear back seemed like hours.  The longer the phone did not ring, the more frightened Pamela Joy became.  She prayed it would just be a big misunderstanding, and Mom would call and laugh about the needless worry.  She called Patrick and told him what was going on.  She was afraid to try Mom’s house again. Patrick said he would call.  He did.  A man answered the phone “Farr residence.” It was not a voice my brother recognized.  He knew it was bad.  He asked for Kate and said he was her son.  The officer identified himself and gave Patrick the news.  Mom was gone. 

STOP IT, I silently screamed. JUST STOP IT!!

Pricing, Royalties, Staying Positive

It’s certainly been an exciting few weeks as the word is slowly getting out about my debut novel.  I can’t begin to describe the thrill I felt when I held my own copy in my hands. No matter how many books I might be lucky enough to write, I don’t think I’ll ever get over that feeling of accomplishment! As far as the royalty factor, with self-publishing, you name the price you want to place on your novel.  That can be a little hard to determine, because obviously the higher the price, the higher the royalty.  But you do have to consider some things.  If you price it too high, no one will buy it, or at least few will.  If you price it too low, first of all, the royalty will be very low, but also people might get the impression you don’t think your book is very good if you set the price too low. 

I did a little research on both my textbook and my novel.  I went to various book sites and took a look at similar books (type of book, number of pages) and determined a basic average of pricing.  I figured as long as I was within the averages, I would be okay. 

No matter what you charge, the royalty is not all that high.  It’s frustrating because there is so much time that goes into writing.  My MT textbook took me literally years and lots of research to write, and even my novel took me about a year, although I did have times where I was not working on either book, so it was not continuous full-time work.    I honestly don’t know if royalties are higher if you go with traditional publishing, but I felt I did not have the time to explore that.  I was too anxious to get my book out there, so self-publishing was the way to go for me. 

Keep in mind, part of the reason why the royalty is low is because I’m not printing my book, shipping it, or making it available in digital form.  All of that has to go into the percentage the publisher is going to take.  If you want to make a living as a writer, unless you get very lucky and actually sell millions (I can dream, can’t I?), then you have to just keep writing.  Luckily, I enjoy doing that, so novel #2 is at its beginning stages.  I love trilogies, so I plan to write two more novels that are related to the first one.  Then after that, I’ll have to dream up an entirely new type of trilogy, maybe a mystery.  Right now, it’s a mystery where all this writing is going to take me, but I can tell you part of the fun is the not knowing what lies ahead! 

I also have to market myself because I am a new writer.  Family and friends are very supportive, buying my book, and thankfully, they feel it is a good read.  I want more than just family and friends to read my novel, especially since I plan to write more.  I don’t expect to sell millions of copies or even thousands, but I would like to see if I can reach a goal of maybe in the hundreds. So to that end, again I’m doing the research.  I have some reading to do on how to use things like Facebook to help get my name and novel out there.   I have been looking at other Facebook author pages to see what they are posting, although so far most of what I have found are established authors, so right now I am focusing on getting myself established as hopefully a readable author.  I’m also taking a look at message forums devoted to writers.  Some of them have a monthly fee, or you can sign up by quarters or yearly.  I have not decided yet if I’m going to do that, but it is nice to know there is so much information out there to get the help you need.  I would love to attend a writer’s workshop and will be looking to see if any might be coming to my area. 

I did have one unfortunate incident on a site with a message forum that very much came as a surprise. I found a Facebook page devoted to older women, facing retirement or new jobs, various challenges and the like.  I thought it might be perfect for me, since I fell naturally in that category.  I posted, asking if I could announce my novel, and the owner of the page suggested I post my book on the forums located on her website and even sent me the link.  So I joined up, introduced myself, and then posted about my book. I did not want to just post about that and nothing else (there are several topics on this forum), so I also posted in a few other places.  Mind you, this all took place over about one or two days.  I was checking in often to make sure I would thank anyone who congratulated me on the book, and the next night while in bed reading, I went to check in, and I get this message that says I have been blocked from the boards.  I contacted support, and they said someone complained about my posting about my book.  I was absolutely floored. I was not contacted or even given a chance to explain that the site owner had actually given me permission to post.  Apologies were sent to me by both support and even the site owner, but I decided to withdraw.  Obviously someone on that site did not like me, so I was not about to have to walk on egg shells any time I posted or gave any hint to my writing career. 

The reason I am sharing this with you is because, if you come across negativity, nasty comments, rudeness, or anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or even makes you doubt yourself, then walk away from it.  As I said above, there is literally tons of information and support out there, so there is no need to force yourself on anyone.  I certainly don’t expect everyone to like my style of writing or my stories.  I definitely have read books that I didn’t like and even a few I didn’t finish.  Focus on the positive, the good comments, the congratulations, the excitement of reaching your goals, whether it’s writing or some other adventure. 

Oh and one last bit of advice.  If you do self-publish, try your best not to check out your account page every 30 minutes like I do.  Even if you know your book is selling, the sale does not get posted right away.  It can take several days after the sale for it to appear on your account.  I’m going to try very hard to take my own advice, but I have a feeling I won’t follow it!

You know the drill—thanks for reading and always enjoy your day!