Monthly Archive: June 2010

Warm fuzzies

I continue to receive thank you notes — from editors who work for me, from authors whose books I’ve edited (two so far), and now from fellow Hindus in a Yahoogroup created to discuss charity needed in Tamil Nadu state of India.  I have been making small donations to help rebuild ancient temples, provide them with oil for their lamps, etc., which is getting me more into discussions of life.  I just received my second invitation to stay with someone whenever I manage to visit Chennai (which I plan to do, and see a 5-to-8-year realization date).  The good news is that these invitations and extensions of friendship are from people who are involved in their community, which is the type of person I try to be.

My best friend, Frankie, is going in for surgery on Tuesday and will spend the night at the hospital.  Nothing life-threatening, just a gall bladder issue.  She’ll need another minor surgery on her foot sometime later. Please keep her in your prayers.

I should be getting my next check from Damnation Books LLC any day now.  Hope it’s a good one.

Hugs,
Me

Got A Life Already

Next Thursday, other people are stepping up to take over Asheville Homeless Network. After over 7 years feeling like an interloper, I still have built AHN into an active nonprofit corporation with 501(c)(3) status. Now it’s time for it to be someone else’s job.

I just got my last paycheck for the work I’ve been doing promoting David Pereda’s latest novel, Havana: Killing Castro. It seemed we were going nowhere, but yesterday our Amazon Kindle ranking was just barely higher than #300,000. Today, we’re sitting at #18,634. I don’t know what that means in terms of books sold, but it has to mean something.

I have my membership for ReConStruction, the World SF Alternate Convention. I will be sharing a room with my oldest friend in the world, Blind Lemming Chiffon. I have contacted staff about a concert.

Tomorrow I will be playing music at a Commitment Ceremony for two very lovely ladies, members of the church I used to attend. I’m getting paid for that.

I am now Senior Editor for two very cool ePublishing companies, Eternal Press and Damnation Books, both owned by Damnation Books LLC. Our sales have been rocketing skyward, which will mean a decent paycheck in the not-too-distant future.

MadPride Asheville 2010 will be happening on July 10, 2010. Right now it’s a one-person operation, but historically there have been others showing up. I hope they can keep the event going.

I have an offer to live in the basement of a house owned by a very close friend, one who makes me laugh and vice versa. I’m not considering a relationship with her, other than being her close friend, and living in her basement will make it closer. I have no further expectations. I will be moving in September. Half my stuff is already in boxes.

I just got a membership certificate from National Association of Peer Specialists, a continuation of my work in peer support. I’m still trying to find out what that means in terms of possible work to do in Tennessee, but I’m still getting offers in Western North Carolina that are getting harder to say “no” to.

Now that I’m no longer working for David and getting out of AHN, I hope to have time to work harder on my music and enhance my editing skills. I just finished editing my first-ever novel for Eternal Press, and have agreed to do a collection of short stories (as editor) for Damnation Books.

And I still have my Disability check to tide me over, and the love and support of my parents. I am still drug-free after 6.5 years. My thoughts are clearer than ever, although I still have work to do with memory and consistency.

You might say it doesn’t get any better than this. But it looks to me like it’s going to.

Hugs,
Me