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Authors and Editors, We Need One Another!

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love my editorsI love writing and when I write my creativity takes me along

with the story and I get lost in it, not caring about comma’s etc. I put comma’s in the wrong places, forget to use quotation marks and forget about correct sentence structure. I check my finished work and try to clean it up, but usually it is a mess. That is where my editors come in.

I want to highlight two people who work magic with my books. One is my publisher and editor plus being an author, Patricia Rockwell. When my manuscript for Cozy Cat Press cropped-ccplogonegative-e1433524649126.jpgis ready I send it in and she crosses the t’s, dots the i’s and makes me look better. She does this for all of her authors at Cozy Cat Press as she is the owner and publisher of the company.

Another person I rely on is D.A. Sarac and The Editing Pen. 1f71c0_74832be138cf469cb3612d72986d5b76I always feel it is good to have more than one set of eyes so I have her edit my independent books I publish under Hermiony Vidalia Books and the books I send to Cozy Cat Press. She has become invaluable to me. In fact, she too makes me look good. My new book The Penderghast Puzzle Protectors was  a mess when it came to comma’s and quotation marks. You would think I would learn but in my excitement and haste I miss many things and I hate editing and Annie Sarac loves editing.

Not only has The Editing Pen been invaluable to me with editing, she has also helped me with my promotions. An author needs to write, edit and promote and it is exhausting and so we ask for help. The Editing Pen offers a wide variety of services and support for authors.

I did try at one time to publish without an editor and it was a big mistake. I have learned my lesson. Every author you read, hopefully has a good editor in their back pocket. I am lucky to have two.

My new book will be featured here on Monday, so stay tuned, sign up to follow this blog  and for my newsletter where you can find the sign-up on julieseedorf.com.

For me this is thank an editor day. I just made it up. Thank you Patricia Rockwell and D. A. Sarac. You are the trick I carry in my back pocket to help my career be successful. And I would guess you would love to edit the post and all my snafu’s.

If you have an editor out there you love, leave a comment. I will choose one lucky winner to receive a surprise. And if you are a reader and don’t have an editor, make a comment anyway. I love to hear from you. And make sure you check back to see if you have won.

It’s Happy Editor’s Friday. Thank an Editor.

Edited by Patricia Rockwell and D. A. Sarac

Edited by Patricia Rockwell and D. A. Sarac

It’s A Blooming Christmas!

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SOMETHING ABOUT NOTHING COLUMN Week of December 21, 2015growth

My Christmas cactus is blooming. It always amazes me in the cycle of life that a plant knows when to bloom every year.

My Christmas cactus has a history. It was part of my life for as long as I can remember, first at my Grandma Krock’s and then at my mother’s home. This cactus has lived longer than my years.

My mother put the cactus outside in the summer so it could enjoy the warmth of the sun and the summer days. When fall arrived the cactus was put in the dark basement and brought upstairs in November. Every year the cactus with its pink blooms sat beside the Christmas tree at my grandmother’s and then my mother’s home.

In my mother’s later years, instead of a Christmas tree, the large cactus was used as her tree and she would adorn it with small bows, bringing more of the season to the cactus, already beautiful blooming blossoms. The living cactus was an important part of her life.

My mom had a green thumb. I have a brown thumb. When my mom entered the nursing home it was February. I forgot about the cactus in her basement for many, many months. I ignored the living plant in her home. A living entity needs love and care to survive and this cactus, after months of neglect, showed its will to live. When I found it, a few leaves were struggling to survive.

I mourned that I had let die something that obviously represented life in our family and had meaning to my mother. It wasn’t just a Christmas cactus, but always a part of my mother’s life from the time she was small. It was rooted in our tradition and it seemed that with my mother’s life failing, I was losing the tradition or our Christmas cactus along with my mother. The Christmas cactus held tradition and memories.

As much as many of us fight to live, my mom’s Christmas cactus did too. In spite of my brown thumb, the Christmas cactus again started to grow leaves after my mother died. The beautiful cactus decided to bloom once again at Christmas time. I give it no special treatment except to smile at it each day. It doesn’t see the dark basement and it doesn’t change its spot on the windowsill, yet it lives, blooms and blossoms. I have to believe my mother is tending it from above.

For me, as I view my beautiful old Christmas cactus this season, I feel hope. Once again it has grown big and strong and has weathered the storms of neglect. I feel the glowing memories in my heart of the many years of family Christmases, of my youth, of what seems like simpler times and my heart stirs with love at the memories. Its beauty, a reminder that there is always new growth in life if we nurture and care for the gifts of life seen and unseen that we have been given. Out of struggle for survival, comes growth.

My wish for you this Christmas is peace and love in the simple things of the season and in the recesses of your hearts. My wish for you is a glimmer of hope and new growth through your struggles throughout the year. May you bloom where you are planted, watered often with encouragement and love, and may your roots be strong to survive the dry, desert moments of your life. May you blossom and bloom this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!

Granny’s Favorite Things! Countdown To Christmas -Gordon Lynch and His Wall of Art!

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I and my character Hermiony Vidalia Criony Fiddlestadt (Granny) fall in love with certain artists, companies, places and their products. On my website, Julie Seedorf, I will be adding a page featuring my Favorite Things. I know I am not Oprah and I am sorry I can’t afford to give away some of My Favorite Things. What I can do is share them with you so they can become your Favorite Things and you can enjoy them too. During the end of November and the month of December I will be sharing art, books, artists and other items I have on my list of Favorite things.  Join me in my journey. I will add to the pages on my Blog and website the favorite things I highlight here.
I am starting my journey of sharing with someone I met this summer in Osakis, Minnesota, his name is Gordon Lynch. I can’t resist antique stores and as I wander through them looking to find whatever my eye catches. On the day I snooped in Antiques Osakis what caught my eye was artwork by Gordon. Not only can he draw but uses old records to create stunning pictures of celebrities that complement his drawing. My impression of his is that he is a very humble man. He graciously granted me an interview. Make sure you stop at the slide show and look at a few pictures I took that impressed me.

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Who is Gordon Lynch?
Born Osakis, grew up on small farm near Eagle Bend. Went to Alex Tech for advertising art, worked in Jamestown, ND and Sleepy Eye, MN in advertising. Married Rosemary in 1983 and moved back to Osakis. Built our home while working for Fingerhut and when they closed I went back to college for my Bachelor of Fine Art in painting at St. Cloud State University. Also have degrees in microcomputer and general business. Ran a couple of businesses and wound up as a HR manager for about 12 years until I decided to semi-retire and pursue other interests. We have three grown children. Katie teaches spanish at Strive Academy in St. Cloud; Erin has a post-doctorate position at UC Davis in California; and Zachary is majoring in business at St. Cloud State University.
How did you end up in an Antique Store in Osakis?
Well, my wife started as a dealer there several years ago and after I came up with this technique I’m using I thought I’d display a few paintings there. As a lot of people showed interest in them and they sold I started painting more. That was about 3 seasons ago.
When did you start painting and drawing?
I started drawing early, as a child probably 4 or 5. In those days we didn’t have a lot of toys, but I could draw things like rockets or cars etc. and I drew all through school. In high school we had a visiting artist during my junior and senior year that helped me become interested in art in general and that’s when I first painted with oil paints.
What gave you your idea to create art out of old records?
I really don’t know exactly. But, at least for me, when I’m seriously interested in something it’s always in the back of my mind. That’s when the ideas come along – this one worked – most don’t.
What are the missteps you made along the way to hone your talent?
Too many to mention, I’ve tried a lot of things.
How do you decide your subjects?
I listen to a lot of music and normally paint musicians that I like. I have done a few commisions and will do more, but this is a hobby and a pastime for me so I don’t want to turn it into a job.
What other type of art do you create?
Nothing at the moment.
Where can we find your artwork?
I will be showing them at Antiques Osakis again next season, starting in May. I may possibly show some this winter at Bumbledee’s Antiques and Art in St. Cloud, MN.
Anything else you would like to add to this interview?
Thank you, I appreciate your interest in my artwork.
I would like to thank Gordon for granting me this interview. It was a blessing to meet someone with this gift.