Copyright 2021 by Lori-Ann Willey
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
STALKING A TICK - Jeepahs Creepahs!
Copyright 2021 by Lori-Ann Willey
Friday, March 26, 2021
WHEN THE GRASS IS GREEN - A promise to My Granddaughter Not Yet Three
A Promise to My Granddaughter Not Yet Three
Copyright 2021 by Lori-Ann Willey
Now that Paul and I received our first Covid Vaccine, we can
see the light at the end of the long, dark tunnel that started over a year
ago. We long for the day we can visit,
give hugs & kisses again.
This morning, I could only see our granddaughter, not yet three years old through a car window. We talked, giggled, and I blew my breath onto the window and drew a heart for her. Little Rozzy, started to get out of her car seat but was stopped. We needed to keep our distance (for now), but I made her a promise. At about the time the grass is green we’ll have had both Moderna shots. After that shot takes effect, the grass should be green. It was a good visual for our granddaughter to remember.
WHEN THE GRASS IS GREEN...AGAIN
When the grass is green, we can hold hands again.
When the grass is green, we can give hugs again.
When the grass is green, we can give kisses again.
When the grass is green, we can go for walks again.
When the grass is green, we can visit each other’s houses
again.
When the grass is green, we can cook together again.
When the grass is green, we can color again.
When the grass is green, we can draw again.
When the grass is green, we can go swimming again.
When the grass is green, we can find pretty rocks again.
When the grass is green, we can play together again.
When the grass is green, we can do everything again.
When the grass is green, Grammy and Grampy’s shots will
allow us to be with you again.
I can't wait until the grass is green so I can hold you again.
When the grass is green...
https://www.facebook.com/WilleysDamCamp
Saturday, March 20, 2021
The Maple Tree That Teleported Me Back in Time
Willey's Dam Camp
Friday, March 12, 2021
WHY ARE YOU RE-LAUNCHING YOUR ALREADY PUBLISHED BOOKS?
WHY ARE YOU RE-LAUNCHING YOUR ALREADY PUBLISHED BOOKS?
Copyright 2021 by Lori-Ann Willey
When I first started writing, I
latched onto the first book writing program I found. At the time (2007?), there were few
options. I wrote in Microsoft Word and
then copy/pasted the document into a book program. Instantly, problems were quick to show. It was like throwing a plate onto the floor that
shattered into a gazillion pieces. My organized
stories, paragraphs, and even sentences shattered as well, dispersed throughout
the program pages and in no order at all.
The constant brainstorming
sessions with the program developers resulted in little or no help. They seemed just as baffled. Not only that, but they also admitted that
their program had many flaws. That did
not help my frustration level!
After years of struggling and
going from one book program to another, I learned that the program is being
phased out. Now, I still had a
publisher, but no program. After researching
and contacting the publisher for a list of programs they support, I learned that
the photobook format now supports text-based formats, too! Not only that, but their prices are also
cheaper, AND their formats accepted by the Global Retail Network! Finally!
Cheaper for me, means cheaper for you!
That is until GRN gets ahold of them.
The news gets better! The “new” program allows conversion from the old,
frowned upon program, and they do that for me!
Unfortunately, that other program still had lots of issues and the
conversion was not an easy task. They simply scrunched up the file “as is” and send it via email. Though each book is the same size, its
formatting is different. Their margin
allowances and their fonts were different, too. The other program had automatic headers & footers. Thus, the margin differences. Despite all that, I’ve painstakingly
converted all my text-based books into acceptable Global Retail Network files. Now, one by one, I will submit them to
GRN. Which ones they will accept, I don’t
know, but I’ll try them all.
I will send the following books
shown in the collage as time permits.
Each has forms and money stuff to figure out at the time of
submission. It takes several weeks or
more before I know if they accepted the book, or not. Once it is, the title, my name, and the ISBN
go into a database and can be “picked up” by any bookstore/shop in the
world. Unfortunately, that comes with an
added price! Everyone wants their fair
share of the profit!
The books in this collage were already
self-published and most without an ISBN number.
Now, each will have an ISBN. The
stories within the books DID NOT CHANGE except the font style, the page
margins, and a spelling correction here and there. Due to the difference in margins from one
program to the other, the new program left room for photos. Those are the only changes, though. So, if someone previously bought any of the
books shown in the collage, the stories have NOT changed, though the format did
in a few.
They already removed the original books
from my online bookstore and the “new” books will be added one at a time as I send
them to GRN. Each book will be “FEATURED”
on Facebook for at least 7 days before I send them to GRN. Once sent, despite the “cheapness” of the new program,
GRN jumps the price by $5-$10 by no control of mine, so I am thankful for the
cheaper program as it helps off-set the GRN cost. Until that submission, I have full control
and can offer each at a lower price, thus “FEATURED”.
NOTE - If you are unable to access the bookstore within the next couple of weeks, it is in the process of having a URL change. I'll post the new URL on Facebook and on my website.
Thursday, March 4, 2021
From A One Word Reader to A Writer of Books
From A One Word Reader to A Writer of Books
Copyright 2021
by Lori-Ann Willey
Growing
up, both of my parents were avid readers.
Each always had a book going. I
remember when I was like eight years old, at bedtime I’d go into my parents’
room to see my mother and father reading the same book at the same time. My mother always held the book while my
father looked onward, which seemed odd, but one day, Mom made a comment that my
father read faster than she did, so she was in control of flipping the
pages.
I
never quite understood the lure of books.
I mean, I’d look at the pictures but could’ve cared less if there were
words or not. Visually, I created a
story of my own anyway. Despite always
having books, I had to be bored to read the words. I wanted to be up running around, outside
playing or doing something …anything except take the time to read predetermined
words (story) in any book.
As
a result, my reading skills were slow to develop. I remember becoming frustrated as I grew
older …when I HAD to read books for school.
I was fine reading textbooks because I was learning something. However, even then if I didn’t care for the
topic, I’d skim. I knew teachers tested
on names, dates, location, etc. So, I learned those, but otherwise, picked out
keywords so I’d pass a test. I skimmed a lot in my younger years, and you
could say that I was a “marginal note reader” when I could be. I loved to learn, but my brain was picky about
how I learned.
Throughout
my Jr. High years, reading a certain number of books during the school year
became mandatory. Not only that, but I
also had to draft a report, too? To me,
that meant certain doom! Both my brain
and eyes read one word at a time still and boy was THAT slow and tedious for
someone that would rather be doing other things. As I read, my mind wanted to write
its own story as I flipped the pages …sometimes several at a time. I became frustrated. To me, my story was much more entertaining,
adventuresome, and fun to see play out in my mind. That was until I realized I had “read” for
15-30 minutes and hadn’t flipped a single page!
I
don’t know how many books that I actually read throughout my school years, but I bet I could count them on all ten fingers, or less. I fudged my reports. To me, I had read a million pages …and I
probably had, because I had to read every paragraph many times and each time,
I’d become lost in my own thoughts, stories told by family, or recalling my own
experiences. Throughout my grade school
years, I was always in the lowest reading group, and quite honestly, I was way A-OK
with that.
During
my younger grade school years, I remember sitting with other students around a table
with a recorder sitting in the middle.
All I had to do was slide a big heavy earphone set over my ears and plug
the cord into the recorder, and I was read to.
I didn’t have to read at all. I
loved that! Though I was supposed to
follow along in a book, I didn’t. With the book open in front of me, I simply
waited until the machine said, “Now it’s time to turn the page”. Even now, when I read books to kids, I still
hear that male voice saying, “Now it’s time to turn the page”. I smirk as I look at the child I’m reading to
before I continue reading.
However,
embarrassment came when I was in the 7th grade and the teacher
called upon me to read a few paragraphs in a book read by the class as a
class. I had sunk in my chair. I hoped like hell the teacher would somehow
just skip over me. I was such an
inexperienced reader still that my eyes hadn’t been trained to fluently see
each word ahead of time. They fastened
to one word at a time and that was how I read aloud. I hated it.
I wasn’t stupid, but I felt as if I was.
Then, one day, I found a book on how to read faster. It wasn’t a speedreading
book, though as an adult, I did learn how to do that quite proficiently, acing
the tests to boot! The very first lesson
told me to scan my eyes ahead 3 words at a time. Well, hell.
That made a whole lot of sense!
Why wasn’t I taught THAT little trick in school? Why was I still stuck only seeing one word at a time?
Once
in high school, I was thankful that I did not have to read aloud in front of
the class anymore, or so I thought.
Because of my poor reading skills, my 8th-grade teacher
recommended that I start out with 9-C English. C being the level of my English
skills. Well, I wasn’t so keen on that
because my skills were fine! It was my
reading that needed help, not my knowledge of the language! Language came easy! The following year, I asked to be moved to
English 10-B. Come to find out that teacher
made us read more books! UGH! Come my junior year, I asked to advance into
an English prep class. The same for my Senior year. Why? I
knew I could do the work, but I also knew those level classes went more in-depth with poetry. More specifically, Shakespeare! I was in love! During the Shakespeare units, I didn’t mind
being called upon to read orally at all.
Yes, my reading was still quite choppy, but know what? So wasn’t reading the works of Shakespeare!
When
called upon to read in class, I did so with ease. Shakespeare was my style, my comfort
zone. Until then, I thought I was a poor
reader, but it turns out that I wasn’t.
Not really. One day, as I left the classroom, the teacher took me aside
and applauded my oral reading skills. I
cringed inside and thought he was just being nice and that he sensed my fear of
oral reading in front of my classmates.
It turns out that he was serious.
He appreciated my style as I read passages as they were meant to be
read. Not only that, but I also understood
what I was reading and could explain to the class what I had read! Say whhhaaat? The teacher called upon me to read more often
because of it. Who’d’ve thunk that
Shakespeare would help my psyche?
As
an adult, I became an avid reader, sometimes I have six books going at once and
I had/have no problem picking each up and knowing exactly where I left off months
ago without confusing the stories, etc.
These days, though, I read mostly for knowledge and can easily say that
I research curiosities at least an hour a day …some days two or three
hours. Since we bought camp, though I
had written stories for my kids, I spend much of my “reading” time writing my
own books of my experiences, children's books, etc.
So,
what brought me to write about this? Today,
I came upon a “review” for one of my books that said,
“When
I first received your book, I have to admit I was quite disappointed there were
no pictures. As I come to find out,
pictures would have only been a distraction.
You are a very descriptive writer.
I did not miss the pictures at all. I saw them all in your words. Your style
is fluent.” -PDT
Back
five to six years ago, that review brought a quick, appreciative smile, but reading
it again today, it brought more. I’m
stuck on one word in particular, “fluent”.
To me, even today, there is nothing fluent about my writing style, but
others disagree. I think I will forever
consider my writing style choppy. It was
the sole reason I named my blog so aptly, “The Inept Blog” (now, The Inept
Blogger).
To
this day, I cringe as I recall my early reading struggles, my struggles to be
attentive and understand a boring story, and my struggles to see and read more
than one word at a time, too. I had zero
patience for reading as a child which resulted in me turning 10-20 pages at a
time just to finish the book and get it over with. All that didn’t pan out so well for me in my
younger years, but I am very thankful that I was introduced to Shakespeare in
the 9th grade, and that teacher too!