How do you stay warm?

First, you have to realize that I live on a sailboat.  Yes.  Live.  On.  A.  Sailboat.  I'm a liveaboard.  I have no land-based house, apartment, condo or storage unit.  Everything I own is on board my sailing yacht Triumph.  She's a cutter-rigged ketch Ta Chiao, designed by Robert Perry.

She's beautiful.  There are three state rooms, two heads with standup showers, a full galley, a main salon, a dinette area, full-sized washer and dryer, an ice maker and a cockpit that reminds me of the interior of I Dream of Jeannie's bottle.

Since she's a boat, we can go anywhere along the coast.  While moored in Boston Harbor, the number one question was "How do you stay warm?"  The first few times, I answered sincerely and honestly.  With two zone air conditioner / heat pumps, augmented by space heaters when the temperatures plummet.  After a couple dozen times, I became testy... 

Typical conversation:
Me: I live on a boat.
Them: Oh my god, how do you stay warm?
(always, always, always the Oh my god...)
Me: How do YOU stay warm?
Them: Don't be ridiculous, I live in a house...

I think living in a house is ridiculous.  Although my dad is still waiting for the day when I come to my senses and move back onto land. 

And if you're wondering, yes, we:
Have electricity
Have the Internet
Stay onboard during the following, but not limited to, hurricanes, Nor'Easters, gales, and zombie apocalypses
Stay dry when it rains
Have cars - parked just outside in the parking lot
Eat foods other than fish and seaweed
Have decorations other than anchors and lighthouses

Workshop 'Til You Drop - Initial Release

It's been 12 hours since I released Workshop Til You Drop.  There are millions of books on Amazon and, with my limited circle of friends, their support put me at #190,822.  Funny how excited I am with this recognition.

Last March, I attended a Pitch Conference in New York that made me feel old and invisible and sad. "No one wants to read about middle-aged people experiencing middle-aged angst..."  One of the twenty somethings, DB, was pitching a book idea that was nothing more than a series of plagiarized ideas strung together -- even the title was borrowed.  I felt that anything I said would come across as sour grapes, so I said nothing.

When I came back, I downloaded a sample of one of DB's books.  It wasn't that great.  Overblown and melodramatic; the writing was raw and the plot was derivative.  I followed his posts for a little while, but stopped when he announced "What gives???  I can't even get my douchebag friends to buy my books!"

Huh.

Two things.

1. If I have to rely on my friends and family to support my writing habit, I'm pretty much guaranteed that I won't make the mortgage payment.
2. Calling your friend douchebags reveals more about yourself than your friends.  Maybe hidden in that comment is a clue as to why you don't have the support you crave.  Ya think???

Positive Reviews Make Me Nauseous

Tonight I took a deep breath and posted my latest book, Workshop 'Til You Drop, on FaceBook.  I have a really weird reaction to positive critiques -- it paralyzes me.  My instant thought is "Oh no...  What if I let them down?"  Negative critiques make me really sad, but I move forward.  Probably to prove the nay-sayers wrong.  My world is an upside down place :)




 

Publishing in the Real World

Just released my latest self-pub, Workshop 'Til You Drop.  Have been shopping for an agent for traditional publishing, but can't seem to rise above the masses.  And, even though I remind myself that just because I've been rejected hundreds of times, doesn't mean I'm Stephen King, I still believe I have a story to tell. Something that others will find entertaining.

Self-publishing has been great in that it helps me understand the process.  Now just need to find out how to market my masterpieces.