I get paid to read books!

At least, that's how my 11-year-old granddaughter expressed her excitement when I told her that I'm editing books for Jacqueline Druga.

I've loved post-apocalyptic books since I read Alas, Babylon then On the Beach and Level 7 when I was 14 or 15.  I read them over and over until the nuclear nightmares became so unbearable that I finally stopped reading p-a and sci-fi until I was in my 30s.

Growing up in the late 1950s and 60s did a number on my psyche.  One of the first big events that I remember, besides the space shots and Kennedy's election, is the Cuban Missile Crisis.  For some reason that really affected me deeply even though I didn't know much about what was going on.  We lived across the street to the entrance to what was then Byrd Airport (now Richmond International Airport) so planes went over at all hours.  Now that I frequently fly into that airport from Key West I realize that we lived right in the flight path.  About the only thing that I remember from the Cuban Missile Crisis is seeing odd-looking planes flying overhead and telling my sister that it was Cubans coming to bomb us.  Heh heh.  I was so scared that I reassured myself by scaring the crap out of her.  Nice of me.

(Mom has told us recently that Air Force One used to fly into and out of Byrd Airport to practice take-offs and landings.  I don't remember anything about that, either.)

Betty remembers the hide-under-your-desk drills at Sandston Elementary School.  I don't.  I guess I've blocked them out of my brain entirely; denial is a lovely state of mind.  She remembers bus drills, too, and I don't remember those.  The only thing that I remember Mom or Dad saying anything at all about the era is Dad saying something about sit on the floor, put your head on your knees and kiss your ass goodbye.  Maybe he didn't actually say "ass" back then, but I can hear him say it like it was yesterday.

Then there was the Cold War.  More talk about nuking Russia or them nuking us.  But eventually I found a few more good post-apocalyptic books and started reading them again.  I found my original paperback copy of Level 7 (not nearly as good as I'd remembered it) and bought new copies of Alas, Babylon and On the Beach.  When my nephew, a very smart young man who made straight As, was supposed to read On the Beach as part of his English class, I answered the worksheet questions on it for him.  Back then I could remember stuff like that.  You see, he prided himself on getting through high school without ever reading one of the assigned books.....  He did well on the test for that one, too :)

But it's hard to find paper copies of many post-apocalyptic books.  Once I'd read those I mentioned above and Lucifer's Hammer and The Stand, there really wasn't much left.  Occasionally I'd come across a new one (at least, new to me) and devour it.  But it was frustrating; I love the genre so much (I prefer nuclear holocausts to zombie ones) and there just weren't enough available.

Along came the internet.  I was able to read about more books and put them on my want list, but I couldn't find them in the bookstores I went to.  Once in a great while I'd come across one at a flea market or used book store, but that was rare.  Then--ta da!  Amazon.com arrived.  I could search for and keep a running wish list of the books I wanted online.  Once in a while I could afford to order a few.  It was so cool to be able to read more and more of these p-a books.

Then, the Gods of Amazon smiled down on me and gave us the Kindle.  And e-books.  Lots and lots and LOTS of e-books.  I started a collection of e-books on Kindle for PC long before I bought my Kindle after Christmas last year.  I was hesitant to get a Kindle; I've always loved reading and actually owning copies of the books I love.  But suddenly I wanted one; I don't know what "kindled" that desire, but I bought one.

And then I found the Amazon forums with discussions about all kinds of subjects--and there's a whole section devoted to post-apocalyptic fiction.  People recommended books and authors to each other.  I'd put 'em on my wish list and, when I could, buy them.  Two things that I like best about Kindle:  It's so easy to carry over 1500 books in my purse (my K3 will hold 3500!), and there are so many free and inexpensive books available.  And many of them are in the p-a genre.

I got to know a few ladies in the p-a forums.  One, Liz, seemed to like the same things I do, so when she recommended a book or author, I checked it out.  Once Kindle allowed loaning of e-books, she sent me some that she liked, and some she didn't (she wanted my opinion on them).  She's my age, is disabled and on a tight budget, but she bought e-books.

Long about May of this year Liz recommended Jackie Druga's Dust to me.  I had to wait a couple of weeks until I could buy it, but once I got it, I devoured it.  I was amazed at how well Jackie writes about such a dark subject as nuclear annihilation.  She researched it well (turns out she's very much a prepper in that department), but what really hit home with me is Jo, the protagonist.  She's a very strong woman who was determined that her circle of friends would live through a nuclear attack; she made lists of things they needed to be aware of, gave them prepper backpacks for Christmas, and they decided that they'd meet at her house if they could after the bombs went off, then eventually would leave for a cabin deep in the woods.  I won't give away any more of the story; just trust me that it's a lot more interesting than my description sounds.

I was so taken with the book that I reviewed it on Amazon, and Jackie contacted me.  She was blown away that Liz and I loved the book so much that we recommended it to others and went on to read her other books.  The one problem that Liz and I had with this and subsequent books of Jackie's is that they needed editing.  Jackie writes beautiful stories; they're about the human connections, not just the mechanics of an apocalyptic event, but she has problems with grammar, sentence structure, spelling of homonyms, etc.  She originally asked Liz to beta-read some of her books, but Liz is in poor health and decided that it wasn't fair to Jackie to promise to do so, so she suggested me.  I was absolutely thrilled!  This is the kind of dream job I've always wanted!

The first book that Jackie asked me to edit (I call it edit, but I don't think that's the proper word for what I do) was The Flu, which as you can guess, is about a pandemic that sweeps the world.  It was the second book of hers that I'd read and I'd loved it even more than Dust.  The characters in this one became friends that I loved (mostly), and when I got to the end of it, I cried for the last three chapters.  I did not see that end coming.  It was heartbreaking, and the novel and characters have stayed with me for over 5 months now.  I knew that I'd cry as I was editing it and really really dreaded getting to the end of it.  I warned Tom that I'd cry; I talked about it for days in advance.  And I cried; I must have gone through half a box of tissues, blowing my nose and wiping my eyes over and over.  When I finished the last page, I told Tom that I was so glad that it was over.  His comment?  "You didn't cry.  You thought you would."  I stared at him.  Turns out he thought my allergies were bad that night.......... ;)

After I started working on The Flu, Jackie was contacted by ***** Press (I won't link to them here because I'm miffed with them) (yes, I'm petty that way) and signed a contract for The Flu and for first shot at her next p-a book.  She insisted that I stay on as editor and they agreed.  ***** released The Flu on November 9 but has not done one thing to promote it.  Jackie thinks that maybe they're waiting for the paperback to be ready.  But they've announced several other books that they've released in the last month, on Facebook, yet they haven't made one mention of hers.  That irritates the shit out of me.  I've read books by one other of their authors, Craig DiLouie, who writes zombie apocalypse novels.  Normally I won't read z-a, but his are really good.  They promote the hell out of Craig, yet they haven't said a word about Jackie.

So I'm taking it upon myself to push Jackie's novels.  I'm in the middle of editing the 5th book for her since August; I'd already read Dust and The Flu; these others are new(er); the one I'm currently working on she just finished last month.  I've loved everything that I've read of hers, and fortunately for me she's a very prolific author.  I'm guessing that she's written and self-published about 50 books; I'm still working my way through them.

If you like this genre, give The Flu and Dust a try.  Dust just went up on Amazon a day or two ago and is already selling.  It had already been on Amazon for some time; this is the newly-edited version.  Another one, Beyond Fear (vampires!!!) will go up soon.  Again, she writes great characters and such good stories.  They aren't expensive e-books, $2.99-4.99; if you're familiar with e-books you know that best-sellers and top names go for $9.99 and up.  I think that Stephen King's new novel is $16 in the e-edition.  I won't pay that.  I've only paid $10 a few times.  Jackie's books are a bargain--and they're GOOD.

I'm making a small percentage of her sales, but I don't care about the money.  I'm getting to read really good books for free--and getting paid to do it :)

The pool is open!

We don't have a finished room in the house, but man, we've got ourselves one hell of a nice pool.

Did I show you what it looked like last summer? Probably. Here's one from last week:



Mosquito Control actually put fish (gambusia) in there a couple of years ago. So as bad as it looked, mosquitoes didn't do much breeding there.

We found this guy in there the day before the renewal started:



By the time the pool was drained, there was a second one in there too. They finally had to be lifted out of there, because they weren't going on their own. Actually, they tried but they couldn't make it up the sides of the pool on their own.

This guy was far braver (or more stupid) than anyone I've met.



I asked him if he'd had his shots; he just looked at me funny.



It took most of the day to pump all of that nasty water and sludge out; he ended up shoveling I don't know how many buckets of really smelly stuff and hauling it out.





One guy stuck his hand down the *urk* drain to try to dislodge the 3 years' (at least) worth of crap while the smarter guy owner of the pool company power washed the rest of the pool.



By that evening, the pool was clean and dry.



And this guy decided to come back to see if it was safe to sun himself on the ledge again.



He isn't the brightest bulb. He repeatedly ran head-first into the fence attempting to leave the yard. He finally realized that *climbing* the fence was his best option.







I'm glad he didn't challenge me; he is one strong booger.



The next morning another crew came and did some stuff. I can't remember exactly what went on. The mosquitoes were so bad that I wasn't going to hang around taking photos, so I mostly took them out the upstairs window, which some idiot badly covered with tinted vinyl to reduce heat from the sun, a pretty much ill-fated attempt.

They spread this thick icky brown muck on the surfaces of the pool and left it to dry overnight.



The next day was Aggregate Day, but it rained all the night before (too bad we weren't filling the pool then, as there were about 6" of water in the pool the next morning) and until 2 p.m. As soon as the sun came out, the crew was back mixing and spreading and sculpting aggregate. They were professionals; they could have decorated a wedding cake, they are so good.




That guy, and the next one, spent the entire time on the steps. Two other guys did the rest of the pool.



They spent hours just smoothing the aggregate. I'm very impressed by the job they did. And it was 94 degrees that day, and the mosquitoes were biting. They finished after dark and returned Thursday morning to acid wash the pool and start filling it.

And by Thursday afternoon, my birthday, there was enough water that we could test our pool.

It's seven feet deep at the deep end; I don't swim and I don't put my head under water, so I use a float when I head in that direction.

The water straight from the hose is about 85 degrees, so it was very comfortable right away. When we take showers, we barely use any hot water at all.

Then *dum dum dum dummmm* the salt marsh mosquitoes descended the next day as we got into the pool. Within 5 minutes they'd driven us out. That happened again the next two days. Today we were able to stay in for about half an hour before they got too bad. Those are the little f^ckers that carry dengue fever, which is making itself known in the Keys and Miami. Lucky us. Regular mosquitoes aren't enough for us.

Mosquito Control said that they're working their way up the Keys and would try to hit us over the weekend, but it doesn't appear that has happened yet. We'll keep calling, because dammit, we have a POOL and we want to use it!

I just hope the crabs and the iguana don't jump in while I'm in there.

No more West Virginia

It's done!!! The Big Migration South is in progress.

The house in WbyGod closes tomorrow. The big truck is at The Cat House with all of our earthly belongings. I am at Ormond Beach with Betty and Joan for a few days of sun'n'fun before heading to Orlando to see Jennifer and the kids and then on to my new home.

I'm a resident of Florida now.

I still don't believe it.

10.5 hours.......

*corners market on Shamwow (tm thingy)*

In today's news....

WE GOT THE CAT HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!

You may reserve your rooms by emailing partycentral@ourplaceinthekeys.com.

Is it Prozac or Florida? OR Why am I feeling so great on a Monday?

I wish I could bottle this feeling.

I feel completely at ease (notice how well I'm ignoring stabs of anxiety), like I've finally been able to exhale. Remember that book, Waiting to Exhale? I knew exactly what she meant by that. I've spent most of my life waiting to exhale. Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Chronic Depression will do that to you.

After spending 8 glorious days in Florida, I am relaxed. I even feel rested. I have a touch of color (I know that sun is bad for the body, but it's so good for my soul.). (Even though an ignorant male teacher told me that it didn't look like I've been in Florida. The soul doesn't show.) If my soul has a color, today it is the serene turquoise of the waters off the Florida Keys.

We got home yesterday morning around 5:30 and went straight to bed. I slept until 7:30 p.m., got up for a couple of hours then went back to bed. I slept wonderfully. Tom is still on "driving straight through the night" time and didn't sleep as well.

I last reported in on Wednesday while we were in Ft. Lauderdale on a little hotel on the beach, with its picture window overlooking the ocean. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there; less than 24 hours, but it's a place we'll stay again. It was clean, comfortable, and had a wonderful pool area. We ate at the Yacht Club that night; Tom's daughter's boyfriend's father is the Commodore there. Good company, good food. Beautiful boats.

Donna and James took us to Marathon in the Florida Keys on Thursday morning. James' family owns a couple of condos there that overlook the Florida Bay. It's incredible; it has a wraparound screened lanai that faces the water (and palm trees and light house); I'd live on that porch if I could. We spent most of the afternoon there, reading and looking out at the view.

Donna helped Tom cook dinner while I took a nap. That's such a luxury for me now; I used to nap after work, but now that I have to get up so early, I can't afford it. But it was so peaceful at the condo that it lulled me to sleep.

We ate dinner on the lanai, watching the sunset. Tom and Donna cooked shrimp, basmati rice, and snow peas. It's a wonderful meal any time, but it was especially good eaten while surrounded by the Florida Keys.

Friday morning I slept late (as usual). (Donna sleeps later than I do, but it has to be noted that she doesn't get off work until 2 a.m. and has a reason to sleep later. I just need sleep.) We left for Key West around 10 or 11; it's just an hours' drive southwest. We ate lunch at Pepe's. We've eaten there before and like it. I had a BLT which for some reason I was craving; even that seemed exotic in Key West.

We split up and spent the afternoon wandering around Key West. I l0ve Old Town. Of course I asked for directions to the knitting shop (they finally have one! Used to only have a needlepoint shop with incredible handpainted canvases; it's still there, too.) I know my way around Old Town that I was able to find the shop without any trouble at all. That, in itself, is a miracle. The shop, Knit Wits (I think) has a wonderful selection of yarns, all organized by color, and even had that yarn crack (or so I hear, since I've never touched it before) Malabrigo in such an array of colors. It wasn't as expensive as I'd expected, but wool, for some reason, wasn't calling to me that day after walking in the hot sun. I chose some coral silk (my vacation yarn) to make a little scarflet. There's a bead store next door, conveniently joined by a walk-through, so I chose some beads to add to the silk when I knit it. Yes, I know that silk that is already beaded is available; I bought a hank in Sonora, CA last summer, gorgeous stuff, but $39 as opposed to $14 plus beads didn't speak to me right then.

I also bought some red, black, and clear beads to use with the "Bloodlust" All That Glitters that yarnlust (etsy) has specially dyed for me. I've decided to make Shipwreck with it. I know that I'm totally crazy to even consider it; I remember how much I moaned and bitched about The Never Ending Test Knit. I won't put any 5000 beads on it, either; I'll probably use only 1000 or so, spreading them a little thinner than the pattern calls for. The clear beads have sterling silver inserts in the holes; I bought slightly bigger ones to use on the silk I bought there. I'd thought of using only sterling silver beads on it, but they're just ridiculously priced, although I think they'd look spectacular. They'd have to have a clear coat on them; I can just see me polishing thousands of tiny beads. (Not.)

We stopped for drinks at Louie's Backyard, a place I've read about in many Florida noir novels. It's right on the beach, with Dog Beach next to it. Key West is very dog-friendly. We enjoyed looking over the ocean as we refreshed ourselves before heading back to the condo.

That night we ate at a nice little restaurant, then packed our stuff in preparation for leaving at 8 the next morning. ( I personally think that anything before noon should be banned.) We picked up our car in Ft. Lauderdale then drove to J.'s house to pick up little Marie, A.'s kitten. We brought her back to have her spayed before taking her back to A. in the summer. She was a wonderful little traveler.

Tom wanted to drive through again, so we got home at 5:45 Sunday morning. We didn't unpack the car, just went straight to bed.

All of my photos are on my laptop, but you can be sure that I'll upload some when I can. I know you can't wait.

I finished sock 1 from the Twilight sock yarn. I forgot to put the hearts on the top of it, so I put one on the top of the foot. I got the second sock right and knit 3-4" before it got too dark and I could turn on Twilight. The laptop won't turn up loud enough for me to hear it, but I could see it juuuuuuust fine. It's still not a well-made movie, but I like it just fine. Still reading New Moon too, even though I took several other books with me. I am doomed, I tell you.

But I'm happy. That counts for a lot.

Happy dance

Ahhhhh, the last day of school before "winter break". It's two whole weeks this year--this is why I work in a school.

Tom's applying for jobs all over the place. Everything is online now, which helps. He's started applying in Ft. Lauderdale. Let me think about that. Move to Florida several years earlier than we'd planned? Warm sun, warm air instead of no sun and cold air?

I think I could cope.

The cons are

1) My family, and Tom's, are in this area, most in Virginia, some a little farther north, but most here. I'd hate not being able to decide on a whim to visit one of them; it would be a trip instead of a few hours' or a day's visit.

2) I have a good, secure (I hope) job. It's an easy, mindless job. People are happy when their copies are done quickly. I like (most of) the people I work with. I doubt that I'd be able to find another job that's easy, that doesn't involve working with kids (much), and that pays this well for only 10.5 months' work with great breaks throughout the year.

3) Our place is a hunter's paradise. We've trained the deer to come to the house to eat. We drive up the driveway and they run to meet us (after running away), stand in a semicircle around the car while we get out. I hate to think that someone could stand on the front porch and shoot the deer.

Pros:

1) Warm. Sun. Palm trees.

2) Housing prices in the Ft. Lauderdale area are low enough that we might be able to afford something decent.

3) Flights from Ft. Lauderdale to Richmond aren't that expensive, usually. Family lives within 2.5 hours of Richmond.

4) Our daughters live in Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale.

We'll see what comes of it.

Hello from sunny Florida!

Yes, it's sunny and warm (relatively speaking; to someone who lives in WV, it's nice and warm) here, and it's been a wonderful, relaxing time with my family.

It only rained Friday night as we were leaving Disney World--a downpour that started after we got off the monorail to walk to our car. I've never been in such a deluge without a raincoat or something. I just totally freak out when water gets into my eyes; my glasses were wet, water dripping into my eyes, and I can't take that. B2 didn't mind at all; he was standing in the deluge shouting "Over here, guys, it's the tram! Hurry, guys!!!" jumping up and down, totally enjoying the experience.

But we weren't taking the tram, dammit; we had to walk every bit of maybe 1/4 mile to the car. We were all soaked to the bone, squishing in our shoes, but not cold. Can you imagine? It was November 14, 7 p.m., we were soaked, and we weren't cold. It was maybe 75 degrees, and the rain was fairly warm.

It had been sunny and warm all day, a perfect day to play at the Magic Kingdom.

J and I did some Christmas shopping there. Since I won't be here at Christmas, we had our Christmas early, and I got to watch the kids when they got their gifts. Nice for grandma.

It was hot on Saturday, too, with a little rain in the morning, but it cleared up in the afternoon. We played outside and made videos, which I edited (badly; my first experience with Windows Movie Maker) and burned to dvds which we then watched on tv. It was so much fun. The kids had a blast. We did the same on Sunday, which was cooler, but we were still outside and comfortable in our shorts, t-shirts, and sandals.

Today is a little warmer; it was entertaining to watch kids run into school wearing their winter coats, hats, and scarves, while it was maybe 55 degrees, which is a heat wave where I live. This afternoon the air is a little chilly, but the sun is warm and I enjoyed some time outside.

In a few hours I leave for Richmond and will spend the night with Mom and Dad. That means leaving their house at 5 in order to get to work on time, but since I get into Richmond late, it's a better option than driving to Hburg.

I'm so glad that I had this little vacation in the sun with my daughter and her family. Who knows when I'll get down here again, so I made the best of it.



P. S. TJX continues the firings at Tom's former work. People are scared that they'll be next. With good reason, it seems. Merry Christmas, employees, and you're fired. Woo freaking hoo.

Up and down

A little while ago I took a drive across town. My former boss is sick and at home, so I offered to take her calendar and laptop to her. It was a great opportunity for me to get out and feel some sunshine.

It's 75 degrees! Real Indian Summer. I even dragged her trash can and recycle bin up her (steep) driveway because it felt so good to be outside.

When I'm in my office, I can't tell if it's night or day, rainy or sunny; it's just flourescent lights, two copy machines, a fan, and an Ionic Breeze with Germicidal Protection. (No. I don't think it keeps the germs from making their way to me, but somehow it feels right.)

It was so great to get outside for a while; I felt like I was playing hookey. I called my daughter and chatted with her on my way across town, and that was nice, too.

Down--gas prices. Mostly $1.99, but I saw one station that was selling unleaded for $1.95. Isn't it sad that it's so exciting when gas falls under $2??? I guess that staycations are responsible for a lot of the price drop.

Whatever. It's all good.

P. S. I have to brag. A is in the 3rd grade, is reading at a 4.6 grade level, and is making all A's. She's in the top 3rd grade class (of either 6 or 8 classes of 3rd graders) and at the top of her class. This is after all the trouble at her old school, where she tested well but J was told that A was in the "lowest 4" readers in her class. From kindergarten through 2nd grade, she was consistently in the lowest classes until January when suddenly her grades shot up; the teachers cited "maturity". Uh uh. I'm convinced that it was that school's way of dealing with Florida's rating system. It was an A+ school, and they needed to have kids improving drastically each year to keep their rating.

Her new school was a D, then a C, and now it's a B. They try harder. When they saw A's transcript from her former school, they told J that A would be in the top class. A told me last week that her school has SmartBoards and she loves them; she said that it's so much easier to learn things with cool SmartBoards. She said, "My old school spent so much money on making the school building look good. My new school spends money to help make the kids smarter."

Pretty good assessment for an 8-year-old.

Happy dance

I got my new camera last night! As usual, I'm too impatient to wait; in this case, to wait for Mr. Bush to finish signing my incentive check and put it in the mail. So last night I casually suggested that we stop by Circuit City to check out the cameras.

I'd decided on a Canon S5 IS because it appeared to have almost everything I wanted in a point-and-shoot camera: good macro setting (even super macro), decent wide-angle and zoom, can be used like an SLR if desired, image stabilization (for those shaky days) and face detection technology, and other things I can't remember here. Oh yes, it had to be under $450, and this one was $329. I hadn't handled one, so that had to be a big consideration, the way it would feel in my hands.

I'd have loved to have a DSLR; some of them are reasonably priced, but with a telephoto lens, which I'd have to have, I just couldn't hold it steady. Since I take lots of photos of far-away stuff, that just wouldn't work. So I opted for a nearly-DSLR.

I've only taken a few photos with it; it was getting dark when we got home last night, and I really have no idea how to use it for even the simplest photos. I was trying to photograph the yarn on my desk but had a difficult time getting a clear picture, so who knows what I did to the settings when I played with it.

I took some pictures of it with my old camera, which will soon be on its way to J. If/when I learn to use the new one!!!

I didn't realize till I got it home that it has a USB card reader with it, so I don't have to hook up the camera to the computer and waste batteries uploading photos:

This is what I have to wade through in order to learn how to use this camera. Auuuggghhh!

What it came down to, though, when choosing a new camera, was the batteries it uses. I really wanted a Sony H7; it has really good reviews, has so many manual settings and longer telephoto plus 15x zoom; this one has 12x zoom, which is close enough. But the Sony H7 uses a proprietary (read: expensive) lithium ion battery, which no doubt will last a lot longer while shooting photos, but the expense is what stopped me. A spare rechargeable battery is $60. The Canon S5 IS uses 4 AA batteries, which I can find anywhere anytime. I know that in the long run I'll end up spending a lot more on AAs than if I bought the rechargeable, but AAs are just so much easier to deal with. And if I want to, I can use rechargeable AAs; somewhere I have some batteries and the charger.

So. I have my new camera. I've done my part to jump-start the economy. Now I just need to learn how to use the thing!