March 2013
My sister Sally came to visit us
in Florida last week. She's an
adventuresome gal and can always be counted on to get us out of our
routines. One of her many passions
is to bathe in the multitude of hot springs scattered throughout the country,
and she possesses a two-volume guide to such spas.
So we trekked to nearby North
Port, FL and went swimming in the Warm Mineral Springs National Park. The park lore maintains that it is the
original Fountain of Youth discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1521 prior to his
untimely death from a poison dart launched by the Calusa Indians near the
now-named Charlotte Harbor.
We soaked and swam in the
87-degree geothermically-warmed waters that tumble out of a 3-acre, 240' deep
sinkhole. We quickly observed that
we were in a minority as English speakers. We were accompanied by a bevy of hefty, hirsute Russian
women, although they could just have easily been Estonians. Eye candy they were not, but they were
mighty fine floaters.
While waiting for Sally and Judy
as we were preparing to leave, I overheard a couple of older (as defined by
being more wrinkly than me) ladies comparing notes. One of them exclaimed,
"I've been coming here for years, and I'm convinced this really
works." After a quick glance
I can pretty well attest that it doesn't, although I uncharacteristically kept
my thoughts to myself. I left in
as wizened a condition as when I arrived.
Maybe it requires multiple treatments.
I just returned from banjo camp
with a heavily-reinforced dose of humility. It's amazing how many unheralded, yet phenomenal banjo
players inhabit our fair land. On
the plus side, I find that my left pinkie is getting stronger and can now
stretch four frets from the index.
This is my version of progress.
I was visiting with a woman on a
flight back to KC, and saw an opening to huckster my book, when she stopped me
in mid-sentence and said, "Do
you know John Richmond?"
I said, "Of course, there's
a chapter in the book called Albany John, and that's none other than John
Richmond?"
She said, "I'm from Albany,
MO, and I've heard of that book.
I'll give it a look."
If only I were doing as well in
New York, but alas I'm not.
A few weeks ago I read an article
in the WSJ about a self-published science-fiction novel Wool that went
viral and subsequently sold hundreds of thousands of electronic copies. Publishers are now bidding for the
rights for a paper version. The author noted that the key to getting exposure
was an accumulation of positive reviews posted on http://www.goodreads.com. The book received over a thousand
reviews with an average rating of 4.8 (on a scale of 5).
Goodreads is a great place to see
what others are reading and to share your favorites. Odd as it may seem, NNAOPP has now been rated by four
readers, all giving it five stars.
Any kind words or ratings you might post would be greatly appreciated.
Sales are now at 1,206 (I had to
add the comma to make it look like a larger number). I remain unsuccessful at finding an agent, but I got a call
from my brother saying neighbors of friends of his wife's sister's hairdresser
really enjoyed the book. This
development keeps me going.
Warmly,
Chuck
