Wishin and Hopin and Thinkin and...

  I don't pray, so I'll leave that one off there. I have been making some good progress over the past few weeks, and it's been keeping me plenty busy--I didn't even realize I hadn't posted here in three weeks until I published my comments about the Boston Marathon attacks.
    Both of my book giveaways have concluded, though Amazon and UPS are really trying my patience on the delivery front. (I'm STILL waiting on my order from two weeks ago--never had to wait this long.) I'm looking forward to the reviews and the feedback, but I really hope they're positive. Building an author platform is hard work, but it's even harder without getting feedback from the people who are actually reading the books and interested in them. My beta readers can only tell me so much.
    I'm into the full-marketing mode now, and I've already had a few stops booked for my blog tour next month! I'm really excited for it, and I really hope it goes well. It seems like most of the stops so far are decent websites that are well-maintained in terms of content and they seem to have a decent number of visitors and readership. I'm hoping that means word will get out and people will start looking into the book and my writing more, even if they don't immediately buy the book. (I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic without counting my chickens--how am I doing?)
    I also relaunched the other website that I've been doing the social media for. It looks beautiful! The hard part for me will be posting regularly, as usual, and getting the advertising publisher stuff worked out. I've been having problems with Cafe Press--those a-holes will not email me back and their ad publisher set-up is a little pathetic in terms of compatibility and technical issues.
    The weather out here has been a little ridiculous. I got a blizzard warning last week and was expecting to be able to call in to work, and then there was hardly any snow. The roads weren't even that bad. (Not even close to the last blizzard I drove home in.) Then this week, not calling for a blizzard, not even a winter storm warning until a couple hours before it hit, and there was probably at least a foot of snow total between Monday and Wednesday.  Tuesday's drive wasn't too treacherous, but the cold and wind Tuesday and Wednesday were a pain to deal with. And they're calling for more rain/snow (could be another big storm, or nothing at all, who knows?) on Monday.
    What the hell happened to spring? I know it's Colorado, but seriously, we don't get snow on the plains this late in the month that often, and we definitely don't get it in these quantities that often at this time of the year. Blarg. I keep waiting to wear my flip-flops and then I look outside and wish I knew where my damn snow boots were. Ridiculous.
    With regard to the blog post title, I'm wishin for some good reviews, hopin my stupid book order gets here soon (like today, when it's scheduled, would be nice), thinkin about Boston and sending out good thoughts.

    Here's to a better spring/summer ahead!

Humanity: It's Still Out There Somewhere

  I was working on some web updates and blog posts on Monday afternoon when I got a strange tweet on my text alerts. This was the first I heard of it, and I'm sure if my other text alert Twitterer, @ElizaDushku, a Mass. native, had been in the country, she would have been the first.

I am saddened and sickened by what fucking maniacs exist in this world.Boston, we are with you. #bostonmarathon
— Jenny Mollen (@jennyandteets) April 15, 2013

    I didn't know what had happened, but the second I headed over to Twitter, and the second I opened up my Yahoo homepage, it was clear something terrible had happened. I was overwhelmed with sadness and fear--I have a friend living and working in Boston--and I didn't know what to say. I couldn't put anything into words even to say something supportive or nice or heartfelt. All I could do was retweet.

    However, as I followed the news throughout the day, I was overwhelmed once again not by horror, but by compassion and awe. So many people in Boston, in New York, and from around the world were pouring out their kindness and solidarity for those injured and affected by the bombings.
    These people, and as I understand, they've tracked down one of the men responsible for the tragedy, always seem to think that they're going to hurt us, destroy us, and bring us to our knees by doing something terrible. They never realize, or remember, that we will get back up again, we will come together, and we will stay strong, no matter how much they do to try to tear us apart. We don't give up. We stand.
    Sometimes, and it's unfortunate that it happens this way, it takes a tragedy to remind us all that we are one nation, one people, and one humankind. We may disagree about religion, politics, and sports teams, but we are all affected by loss, and we are all filled with compassion for others who experience loss. That is universal.
    We all have the capacity to love, and to offer that love and support and compassion for others, especially when we see they need it most. I have my complaints about the people and the laws and the ideologies in this country, but if there's one thing I know to be true, it's that we are never short of love and compassion in the face of tragedy, and that makes living in this country worthwhile.
    So, instead of revenge, instead of more violence, I want to focus on the compassion and on the solidarity and support for all those affected by Monday's events. It's those things that will make us strong, not brute force or military power.

Make love, not war. Even when war seems warranted.