Tag Archives: Granny Snows A Sneak!

Enter To Win?

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This blog post is one I wrote on The Cozy Cat Chronicles Monday July 20. It is my thoughts on free books. I still do a giveaway now and then and here is a link for my goodreads giveaway.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Granny Forks A Fugitive by Julie Seedorf

Granny Forks A Fugitive

by Julie Seedorf

Giveaway ends July 31, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Recently I made a decision to stop downloading free books on my Kindle. I am sure I will break that rule every now and then, but for the most part I will buy my books.

A great deal of thought went into my decision. I am an author and I pour my heart and my soul into my books. It takes blood, sweat, tears and time to write my books. To me my time and my creativity are worth something. And so is the time and creativity of other authors that I read.

The premise behind the free book giveaways on certain sites is that a reader will read someone’s book and like it so much, they will read the rest of the series. When an author signs up for the free book giveaways on book sites they hope to attract many new readers and for many authors it appears to work. Now let me be clear, I am not including the giveaways on blogs authors visit or contests on author’s sites. I am merely addressing the giveaways on Amazon and other free sites.

My reading habits and those of many of my friends are what led me to this decision. I have hundreds of free books on my Kindle. Some of them are worth reading but for many I skim a few pages and take them off because I download freebies of genres that think I might like to read, but once I am into the book I realize it is not something I normally would read. I do find many authors that I love but……my intentions are always to go on to their first book or their next book, it never happens because I download another freebie to read. Those intentions go right out the door.

I have polled some of my friends and they only read free books. Some never have to buy a book and don’t. The same goes with the Kindle Unlimited. My friends enrolled in that program never read anything that is not enrolled in that program. And why should they, it’s a good deal for them. For that reason I enroll my books in the program.

I made a decision to support authors and their hard work. I will buy what I need to read either in paperback or on Kindle. I will read the authors works that I like and if I see a new author whose book entices me, I will buy that one too. One of the reason’s I like e-reads is because it affords me the chance to read more books at an affordable price. I love paperbacks but my budget doesn’t allow for many of them.

Contrary to popular belief authors do not make a lot of money . Their budgets are tight but they choose the career of author because they love to write. Writing is breathing. Not only do authors spend time writing they must also promote their work. If an author is lucky they have a publishing company that does some of their promotion for them, such as sending out promotions and book releases and makes a splash of their new books when they come out, and then continue promotion. Many authors do not have that and they do double duty with the writing and the promotion and they get tired. For me, it is hard to write when I am tired and mentally exhausted from details.

Why am I writing about my decision? Because I am making a stand to support authors in every genre. I applaud their hard work, sharing their hearts with their readers and struggling though the excitement and ups and downs of being an author. Many have day jobs along with their writing career. Many give up because they are tired. Others never give up the dream because there is always another book in their head and they work 24/7. Today I salute writers. Today I will buy their books. Today I say thank you to those that let me immerse myself in their pages.

Readers, as authors we value you. I am lucky to be included in a great group of people joined together at Cozy Cat Press. I value them too and their dedication. These writers are talented and I want to give them the fanfare they deserve. If you have read a book by one of them, tell the world. You have no idea how that will touch their hearts.

It was with trepidation I write this blog. Events in my life have recently given me the courage to be me. Along with that is the freedom to say things I formally might have been afraid to say because it would cause controversy. It’s not done to say to readers, “I work hard, please buy my books.” I have to believe every author has the thought in their mind. So I will say it for all authors and let the chips fall where they may. I won’t hide the fact that I want you as readers to buy our books. Let us transport you to our world. Support an author. And if you have read my book Something About Nothing. This is the something that we authors don’t say in the nothings that we speak to each other every day.

Patience! Road Construction A Blessing or a Curse?

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SOMETHING ABOUT NOTHING by Julie Seedorf- Published the week of July 13 in the Albert Lea Tribune and The Courier Sentinel

roadblocklifeI dread driving in winter on icy roads. I look forward to summer and the ease of hopping in my car and visiting whatever community my heart tells me to visit. It doesn’t take hours longer to get somewhere because I don’t have to drive slower because of the ice.

Tuesday I rode to a meeting in the Twin Cities with an acquaintance. Our time was tight because of work schedules. We knew how far we had to go and we knew how long it should take us.

It is amazing how much we anticipate summer roads but forget about road construction to fix roads, so our travel — when construction is completed — results in better roads. The freeway was somewhat empty that day.  We were within a mile of our freeway exit before we hit the back up traffic from road construction. It was almost at a standstill. We checked the time; we were still early.

Remember, I said this person was an acquaintance I had only met once and shared only a few words with. Before I got in the car I wondered what we would talk about. We had writing in common, but this person has fame under his belt. I figured the ride was only about 45 minutes so we should be able to find enough nothing to talk about for 45 minutes. I hadn’t counted on a traffic jam.

As we edged to the exit we had pretty much covered the weather, the traffic and the little unimportant details of our lives. We concluded I was the chatty one and he was the silent one. I have a tendency to rattle on when I am nervous. We reached the exit. It was closed. Now here is where the glitch came in. We knew only one way to get to where we were headed and that way was closed.

Since the acquaintance was driving, he said to me, “Do you know where we are going?” No one that knows me well would ever ask me that question, but of course this was an acquaintance who would not know that I never know where I am.

I pulled out my phone with the handy GPS and we got directions. I had to fumble through my Facebook to find the exact address on the invitation. We knew where we were going but we didn’t know the exact address. We knew how to get there taking the closed exit, and we knew we would recognize the building when we saw it. However, now we were in uncharted territory, trusting the GPS on my phone to get us there through unfamiliar streets and neighborhoods.

Mr. GPS told us to take the next exit. We followed the instructions on my GPS and wondered as we traveled our newly-charted course whether we should trust my phone. Finally we saw the building, but couldn’t figure out where the parking lot was. After a few wrong turns and missteps we parked in the parking lot of the building where we were supposed to be. Yes, we were 15 minutes late for the meeting, but at least we were there.

We entered a library. We rushed into the building and didn’t know where to go. We had to ask for directions. Our conversation while entering the building centered on the fact we didn’t have time to read much anymore. We asked for directions to the room for the meeting, and we missed reading the sign right in front of our faces giving us directions to the meeting. Lack of reading time could be why I am lost so much, I can’t even read directions.

I must admit — the GPS and being direction-challenged broke the ice in the art of conversation between acquaintances.

I remember another time in my life where I was paired to work with someone in a volunteer position and I was feeling shy about it — I know it is hard to believe that about me. It might be a secret but the loudest people are occasionally the shyest, and loudness is a cover for insecurity. What I found out was I would have missed a good friend if I had let my insecurities keep me from volunteering to work with this person.

The meeting was over and I no longer wondered what kind of conversation I would have with this acquaintance on the way home, because this acquaintance, somewhere in the traffic jam, had become a friend. I am not sure without the traffic we would have had the time to talk about the somethings in our lives rather than the nothings.

The next time I am in a traffic jam I will be patient. Instead of being anxious about my destination I will engage in conversation with my car mate and not be anxious about the delay. If I am by myself I will take the time to listen to music or be alone with my thoughts. I might learn something about myself.

One other little tidbit I have learned this summer: I am always lost when driving. My GPS on my phone always gets me to my destination one way or another. I never know where I am or what it is leading me to when this happens. Somewhere along the way there is always a fun surprise. I may be lost, but what I find, occasionally takes my breath away.

“Anytime I feel lost, I pull out a map and stare. I stare until I have reminded myself that life is a giant adventure, so much to do, to see.” — Angelina Jolie

Greeting Card Challenged?

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Something About Nothing

by Julie Seedorf  published by the Albert Lea Tribune July 2015

 

cards1Did you get the Fourth of July card I sent you? How about the birthday card or the Christmas card or the I’m thinking about you card? Of course you didn’t, because I never sent them out. I am greeting-card-sender challenged.

This little quirk of my personality didn’t just pop up out of the blue since I became an adult. I was reminded of this fact as I poured through old pictures and memorabilia from my past. I found letters written to my relatives in my childhood and teen years that I never mailed. It was always a standing family joke: if you wanted a letter or a card from me during those years you had to visit to receive them.

I love receiving greeting cards, birthday cards and postcards. I love any mail that is not junk mail, but I seldom receive it since I am so bad at mailing things myself.

I have good intentions. Recently I found a card that I had ready for my friend, Lisa, a book reviewer. I don’t know why I didn’t send it and I don’t know what it says. I didn’t open it as it is sealed. I am going to send it to find out what her response is. I also found an RSVP that I never sent back. I have that habit too.

The same thing can be said for thank-you cards. I am very thankful for everything someone does for me or a gift that I receive, but I have a problem sending that thank you. Maybe I need to get some counseling to find out why I can’t seem to get around to writing those cards or if I write them — mailing them.

Last Christmas this little quirk extended to Christmas cards. I didn’t mail any out. I didn’t write my Christmas letter. Is it no wonder my friends and family from afar have given up on me?

I have some friends and family that always send a thank you. My daughter-in-law always makes sure I get a thank you, and she has taught her children they need to do the same thing. I am happy those grandchildren do not follow in the footsteps of their grandmother. I hope their kindness and saying thank you continues on.

I could blame my mother. To be fair, my mom didn’t have the time to see that I sent out a thank-you note. She would tell me to do it when I got older and trust that it got done. Her schedule — taking care of our house, taking care of her mother and brother and working in my family’s shoe store — didn’t leave her much time to nag me about thank-you notes.

I also failed at the mother part when it came to teaching my children about thank-you notes, although I think at least one of them is good at it.

It is important to thank people for what they do for others. It is important to make people feel valued in life. I believe that sincerely and I hope I do that with my words. I apologize to those who have been victims of my mailing phobia. Just know that although you might not have received a thank you, I am very thankful for your friendship and your kindnesses.

I cannot go back and change my past behavior, but I can go forward and try and do better.

Recently, feeling stressed, I realized I need more balance in my life. I take responsibility for things and feelings and others actions that are not my responsibility. Because I do that, I get so caught up in worrying about tomorrow and trying to fix things that I get more stressed and more frustrated and live with a constant feeling of being overwhelmed. Balance means realizing I am not superwoman. I can’t fix others problems because I can’t fix my own because I am too busy spinning.

This Melody Beattie quote says it all, and I would be wise to listen, “Letting go helps us to to live in a more peaceful state of mind and helps restore our balance. It allows others to be responsible for them and for us to take our hands off situations that do not belong to us. This frees us from unnecessary stress.”

When I write I lose all track of time. I forget to eat and can find myself sitting at my computer the entire day. During that time the stress melts away. The world melts away. When I am in that world I am not worrying about anyone else. I am not trying to fix things beyond my control. I am not telling someone else what to do (I am good at that); only my characters bend to my will. I am refreshed. I find balance in writing. I need to carry that balance into the real world and remember who is in control. If I do that, maybe you will get that greeting card.