MEDICINE ROCK: A Journey of Vision & Healing

CHAPTER ONE, HAMILTON

2012-02-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

Happy to say Chapter One accepted two books, on consignment. They didn't let me know the others had sold out, but now I can refer folks there again.

Book stores must be in an awful bind as the publishing business goes through a huge revolution. Increasingly used books are more valuable for folks that want a book in their hands, and new books will be ever more pricey. I am hoping the self-publishing route will be a significant percentage of the industry, but of course that entirely depends on marketing...thus more social networking.

So now I've got a facebook page for MR, which I will add to frequently. And if I get a good review from an editor on the beginnings of my new book, perhaps a facebook page on it as well? The downside is writing on blogs, facebook and returning emails takes a fair amount of precious time. I enjoy it, but it takes me from the fantasy world I'm creating in the new book. No, it's not a fantasy novel, or sci fi, or futuristic. But it's my world, I created it, I populate it, and I'm the Source for all the action that occurs. Is that powerful or what??

UPLOADING TO KINDLE

2012-02-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

At a reader's request, I am sharing the uploading process for Kindle. I'm always amazed when I go on Amazon that yes! It IS there! At the outset I should declare my ignorance: I am a far cry from a computer geek, although my daughter is, and in a pinch she can help me out, but not with apps like these.

I put off this step of marketing for as long as I could. Then when a whole morning was available to work on it, I psyched myself up to be patient with the process, follow instructions to the nth degree, and pray.

With that in mind, I cautiously began the uploading process with Amazon. I had already paid Booknook.biz $150 to convert MEDICINE ROCK into prc, mobi and epub, the "languages" needed for Kindle and Nook. They send step-by-step instructions for their process, and just encourage writers NOT TO PANIC!

I started by watching Amazon's video about uploading to Kindle, and then went to KDP Platform, followed the directions and eventually it was THERE, on the web, ready for purchase.

Unfortunately, the Kindle version doesn't have a table of contents, which was a major faux pas on my part. AND, the book covers were a hassle, mostly because I couldn't locate them on my hard drive!

Booknook.biz offers these helpful hints: Remember the formats for Kindle are prc and mobi; the format for Nook is epub. If you upload your epub by accident to Amazon, it won't be the end of the world--the book will actually work; but it won't have all the bells and whistles that an Amazon book should (like being linked to the 5-way button). At Pubit, (Nook), though, their uploader can get hung up if you upload the wrong books, so just double-check before you click that "upload" button!

You need Adobe Digital Edition installed on your computer, or use Firefox EpubReader add on (if you are a Firefox browser user and would prefer to go this route). You'll also need a Kindle Reader of some type, to review your Kindle book when it's prepared. You can download a Kindle reading application by going to: FREE Kindle Reading Apps, or by simply going to Amazon, scrolling down their menu on the left hand side until you get to "Kindle" and then selecting "Free Kindle Reading apps" from the pop-up menu.

Let me add that Nook and I didn't get along very well in the uploading process. Their template program isn't happy that the author and the credit card holder are two different names for some reason. I worked with that whole process 2-3 times back in November and haven't attacked it again since. So at the moment the book remains available only in Kindle. But I'll get back to it. Currently I have at least one day a week (usually) to focus on writing and marketing, so I'll clear the decks one of these mornings and voila, there it will be!

I am currently considering a webinair presenter named Steve Harrison who offers a free webinair about marketing and social networking. His starter video is offered in the evenings, which aren't a good time for me to listen/watch. But he's persistent, so I'll probably take the time to pick up a few tips. I'd like to have a MR facebook page, and connect everything together (website, blog, facebook)...another morning's work that takes me away from the flow and swirl of the actual writing which is like taking candy from a two year old!!

I'm delighted if this is helpful to anyone, and amazed I've pulled this much off! Oh, don't forget: deep breathing, and going S L O W L Y. No hurry. Hope this helps!

GRATITUDE

2012-01-21T07:58:00.000-08:00

How could a writer spend several years growing a book (or half a lifetime) and not hope the critics will bring it to the attention of the world? I entertained those ideas a time or two as I put MR together. That my story might in someway touch thousands of others was a thought almost too grand to contemplate.

Since its publication in 2000, I've lowered my expectations. Our local bookstore didn't even send a press release when I was there to sign books. The book critic on our NPR station, who knows me by name, ignored it. The Sacramento Bee book critic, whom I'd cultivated with newsy notes before publication, ignored it. Alright, it's a one-of-a-kind book, written in a quirky way that reviewers don't like. They want a REAL memoir, in first person, that bares all: sex, drugs and rock and roll.

Well, I am unique, and can only fulfill life-missions in my own unique way. The result, while not profitable, has been deeply gratifying. Readers tell me, "I didn't want to put it down." "I was fascinated!" "It brought back so many memories." "Your writing is amazing. I can just feel myself in it." It's comments like these that remind me to keep writing, and marketing.

My grand nephew is in the business of marketing right now. He's an awesome and very handsome young man with determination and intelligence. He wants to help set up another layer of social networking for MR, which pleases me. AND, I need to discipline myself to tackle Barnes and Noble's Nook template again, which treated me very poorly last time! I've sold four books locally this past week. Every dollar goes into the "book fund" to reorder MR's for me to sell, or eventually to publish again.

I'm pleased to be working on a new book, one that doesn't resemble memoir at all. and quite excited as it develops, sometimes in twisty ways I didn't predict. So that's an update, beginning in January 2012, two years after I first had MR in my hands with a copyright, a cover and a head full of dreams!

KINDLE VERSION AVAILABLE

2011-10-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

Just a note that the new Kindle version of MEDICINE ROCK is available now. It can be downloaded on line for $8.00. Quite a savings. The Nook version should be up in a week or so!

GOT THE DIGITAL

2011-10-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

It was a long process...not because of the process itself, but because of my own ignorance and proscrastination. BUT, readers can contact me and I can send them a digital copy of MEDICINE ROCK for $8.

And while I'm at it, I'd recommend Booknook as an excellent recourse for this process. Soon I'll be uploading to websites, so the book is more available there!

Thanks for checking in!

GOIN' ELECTRONIC

2011-05-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

I've started the process to make MEDICINE ROCK available in e-format. There are many advantages to finally taking this step including more profit per sale for me, but more importantly, a cheaper way for readers to access it.

Next book will be e-format almost instantly! The world of publishing is changing so rapidly that I'd be wary to invest in any hard-copy publisher! iUniverse isn't offering eformatting at this point. When they did, briefly, they were overwhelmed with the result!

I've been adoring Isabel Allende's writings...passionate, historical, human. Also reading Confessions of an Igloo Dweller, by James Houston, an account of living with Inuits in Northern Canada in the 1940's. Fascinating.

One result of this amazing journey of writing a book is my expanded knowledge of writing styles, and of books in general (65,000 a year published in the U.S. alone). This beautiful spring I'm having a challenging time choosing between gardening and reading and writing. Lovely to have such exciting choices! May your life contain wonderful choices as well!

VIGOROUS SEEDS

2011-03-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I received a lovely letter from a woman whose son died 45 years ago. She found my book on the web and wanted to buy a copy. Bless her heart, and the heart of her husband, who partnered her in that tragedy, whatever it was. Her note echoes the knowing that the children are never forgotten; our memories of them keep their energy circulating in some magical way while we remain on the planet.

I am reading Paula, by Isabelle Allende. Every page I devour, wondering how I'd missed Isabelle's wonderful passion, memory and imagination. I am so thrilled she has written so many books, sharing her extravagant heart with all of us. Then I found her website: it was like returning to a luscious restaurant I'd come to love.

She has inspired me in a period of dimished imagination. One of the impressions she shared in this morning's reading was how Paula, her daughter who is so slowly dying in the book, planted vigorous seeds while passing through others' lives. I would like to think that is my mission as well: planting fertility through my writing and being. This is not only a humble hope, but a prayer in gratitude for the seeds I have received and nurtured from others.

Isabelle writes 9 hours a day once she has begun a book. She always begins a new book on January 8. She describes going into her space, lighting incense and candles, and inviting the spirits to gather and offer their energies to her efforts. I found this so affirming of my own process with Medicine Rock, and also quite revealing about my current dry spell. My writing room is continuously cluttered, now a shared room with my dear husband's desk, bureau, fliers, guitars, etc., and my own bureau, dirty clothes hamper, and "business" clutter of day to day life flung out on my desk. This space arose out of need for a family member to have a bedroom, and we at first hoped it would be adequate. And it is, for business, or busy-ness, but not really for inspiration. So I'll be developing a space in another part of our little compound that feels serene, private and encouraging.

She also describes a wonderful ritual to bring in new energy (p. 269) that involves washing the space with a peculiar, odorous solution, beginning from the back of the area to the door, and out the door, then washing again from the entry back into the rest of the space. These seemingly innocuous rituals, done in good faith, can work wonders in our lives. I know this from years of embracing them. And I suggest them on this page to encourage others. Writing is not only personal, not only mechanical, but transpersonal.

Remembering this has freed my creative fires. We writers are working magic; don't forget. We touch even strangers, transforming raw materials of life to Divine Light.

IUNIVERSE SENDS ITS BEST

2011-02-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

Padding softly in new snow to the mailbox I didn't expect an envelope from IUniverse. It wasn't an advertising sized envelop, but a money-sized envelope, the kind that you tear the perforation and voila, there's a check.

I saved it till last as I tore apart the other correspondence. What was I expecting? Not a thing. What was I hoping? That somehow, someone had purchased a hundred books, and this was my quarterly royalty statement. And what was it? Well, it was a statement, for the IRS, declaring my earnings of $28 and some odd cents.

What does that represent? About twelve books! I chuckled, gently acknowledging my grandoise self and gratefully accepting what was declared.

In the meantime I'm sending out a couple of freebies to people who are great blessings on the planet. One is Bette LaDuke, Sun Bear's first wife, and mother of Winona. Bette is an amazing artist whose focus has been earth healing and the celebration of women throughout her long career. I can always spot one of her posters: bright colors, strong people, or wonderful animals pulsing with life.

The second one going in the mail today is to Medicine Story, whom I met many many years ago in a meadow in the Trinity Alps. He was playing piano on an old upright standing in the weeds! It was a glorious afternoon, capped off by a little fire and storytelling for the many children gathered at that lodge. He is currently working to have Leonard Peltier freed from prison, after 35 years. Leonard is suffering from cancer and needs to return home before he passes.

Both of these folks received my inquiries with graciousness, and welcomed the book. I am thrilled to share it with them. I'll also donate a copy to the silent auction at a retreat I'll be attending later this month to raise money for a scholarship fund.

In the meantime, I've enrolled in a writing class at the University to keep nudging my awareness as I put fingers to keyboard and mind to ether to create new poems, short stories, and to continue pieces of the next book!

BREWING

2011-01-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

I was heartened recently to read a comment by Maya Angelou that her book "Only a Caged Bird Sings" took six years to write, and three of them passed before putting fingers to keyboard. I resonated with this because as I press the keys to begin another book, I find the jungle of my mind too present, and the characters' voices somewhat distant, like distant relatives I've never met.

At this point I have opening paragraphs in first person, one in omniscient voice, and two in third person, as I feel out the flavor of this new plot. MEDICINE ROCK was relatively easy to know who-what-where-why and when: my life, my time frame, a sequential journal to follow, etc. But the new one is pure fiction, multiple layered, and there's a lot to "flesh out," as they say (horrible phrase, must have come from drawing).

To keep open and surrendered to the process, I've enrolled in a non-fiction course at the University of Montana. The text is "The Elements of Story: Field Notes on Nonfiction Writing," by Francis Flaherty (an editor at the NY Times). I haven't begun the class, but the book has been nudging my sleeping metaphors and raking through similes. For example, a character that is essentially passive needs to talk that way! Now in my galloping style of writing, that might have happened just because I can empathize with victims who hate making decisions and thrive on others' directions for their lives. But bringing this device to consciousness will ensure I make this a point, instead of a random act of dialogue.

I bought the book, used, through Amazon. I enjoyed leafing through it briefly to see it was in great shape. But later I ran into highlighting right where I would have underlined, so I guess the book's previous owner and I are "on the same page!" On a closer leafing through I note no more yellow lines; she must have given up, and just started writing!

A "purely fiction" class wasn't available, but so much is transferable that I'm impatient to start the first class. In the meantime I'm being reminded that my point of view is unique, that my sense of timing, choice of words, and how the plot is ultimately fashioned will lead to a reading adventure no one else could possibly write, but many others can deeply appreciate.

Publication date? 2017? Well, truth be known, I've already chewed on this bunch of characters, the setting and the plot for more than a year. But really, who's counting? Not them. Not me. Maybe my readers; but they'll have other great books from other artful writers in the meantime!

TRAILER ON YOUTUBE

2011-01-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

In a few days my little "trailer: will be up on YouTube...it's brief, sweet, and gives a little taste of MEDICINE ROCK. Now I'm working on an "interview with the author" to post in the next few weeks.

And I'm dreading sorting through all the little slips of paper that comprise my tax receipts to quantify the investment I've made in the book this year. OH, and income, of course! I hope I can show a little profit, since in Montana three years without a profit dictates that one must then pay taxes on all the deductions one has taken. Dreadful thought.

I am continually chewing on the next book...and have signed up for a writing class for 6 weeks at the University to stir up the pot. Also have a writers' group started to meet monthly to share, critique and support each other. I actually looked in to securing a Masters' in Fine Arts (Creative Writing) at UM, but felt out of my league when I visited the website, looked at the cost, and thought of the time investment, including driving to Missoula multiple times a week. That's a feather in my cap I probably will not pursue!

I've sold two books in the last month...and now my contract has expired that gave bookstores their money back if they don't sell books. I didn't feel I could renew it at this point. But there's still fish in the sea, and I'll keep fishing.

THE E-REVOLUTION

2010-12-15T09:18:00.000-08:00

About mid-November my book consultant from IUniverse called to offer me the opportunity of paying them $300 to transfer my manuscript into e-format and make it available to the major e-book outlets. I wasn't able to plunk down that much money at the time, so I waited. Now that I can cough it up, I called him back. Opps, nice try, so cigar. Apparently they had such a huge response to the first offer that they are 6-8 weeks behind and were told to stop taking orders.

He confirmed a rumor I'd heard that, after the first of the year, REALLY MAJOR changes will occur in the publishing industry, ones that we poor readers and authors will experience also, thanks to that trickle-down effect! He wouldn't elaborate. He did "lock in" the price, so when the e-book offer becomes available again, I'll be on board.

He also suggested it would cost $6-12 to download, and I'd get 50% royalties. (No postage and shipping deducted, obviously.) That was sweet to hear.

I just received the gift of a tiny purple MP-3 player and discovered I can download a free audio book from DRM-free tracks at emusic.com/machspeed. It seems about every three months there's a new electronic/virtual learning curve to master. They're coming fast and furious. I sat next to a young woman at church Sunday who had a Kindle. I could feel my "desire body" pulsing to have that thing for an hour and mess around with it!

It's quite likely that my next novel, chap book or poetry book will never see paper, and I'll transfer it to the web myself. In the meantime there's some good old fashioned writing to do!

DRIBBLES AND DROPS

2010-12-04T21:03:00.000-08:00

I had the rare pleasure of an old friend calling me and requesting three copies of the book! We had a wonderful lunch together in Missoula, after several years of absence. She plans on giving the book at Christmas! I had helped her birth her two daughters a number of years ago, and one of them lunched with us and brought her son, a bright, relaxed, almost three-year-old.

NEW TRAILER ON YOUTUBE: Should be out in a week or two. Very simple. Another little presence on the web for folks looking for me. Plan on making another one over the holidays. My granddaughter will interview me and she can post it to YouTube.

A local "Wiccan" bookstore requested three more copies of the book, has sold two. I took credit instead of cash, her merchandise is so lovely. The store's name is Between the Worlds. She's a brave woman given the climate in our valley.

And this weekend my book is once again at Lava Hot Springs, Idaho.

Missoula's Hastings Book Store is interested in a reading, imagine that! After Christmas I'll make yet another drive north to Missoula and see how that goes.

Hoping my readers enjoy the "Going Within" time, and celebrate Winter Solstice with friends and animals!

FLURRY AND FANFARE

2010-11-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

My huge two days at the Missoula Festival of the Book were well worth the money and the effort. I actually sold some books: two to strangers, the rest to old friends. I schmoozed with the editor/publisher of the Whitefish Review who suggested a portion of the book might fit in their wonderful publication, available only through the mail. I listened to two of the "Masters of Crime Fiction" James Lee Burke (whose book I'm now reading: BITTERROOT), and R. Rizzuto, both offering insight into their writing process. I enjoyed Burke, and later reflected that every one of his references to excellent writings or sayings were male authors. He was quite entertaining, and I'm picking up some ideas from reading his very bloody novels. So much for the male club.

Interestingly, I did poetry readings in the late 80's in Missoula with Roger Dunsmore. I connected with him briefly at the Festival two years ago, and reconnected Saturday at the urging of my inner guide, who harped on me to give him a copy of my book. It was fortunate. His wife hung with Sun Bear at Vision Mountain and was thrilled to have the book! In exchange Roger gifted me his latest chapbook, YOU'RE JUST DIRT, which I'm thoroughly enjoying.

There is really no way to describe the boost the Festival offered to me. I was challenged, enlightened, intimidated, encouraged. It was something like the rush of mescaline moving through my body--granted an old memory, but apt nonetheless. Watching people is a delightful hobby, and my table was right across from the authors after they completed a reading or a panel. Such rich observations. Cheryl Nolte was there, dressed in black, adoring a Native American poet. Cheryl has survived and obviously finally thrived with her stark poetry; I'm so happy for her. And of course Bill Kittridge, and Annuck Smith, who recently wrote a stunning piece in the Independent about the idea of a superhighway for vehicles 27' wide, 30' high and 2/3's of a football field long. (I wish it was only an idea, not already on paper, moving forward, etc. etc.)

And MEDICINE ROCK and I were there, thanks to my three friends who sat at the table and went to offerings too: Kay, Coco and Sabora, and to my benefactor who gave me a business loan last year. Now I am settling in for a winter at home, if all goes well, to write, enter poetry and short stories in various publications, and watch the leaves fall outside my window.

SEE YOU AT THE FESTIVAL!

2010-10-25T09:44:00.000-07:00

Are you getting excited yet? I am. I've got my MEDICINE ROCK post cards, my MEDICINE ROCK baseball cap, lots of books (duh) and even my laptop for Sun Bear's video! Do I think I'll be selling more than ten copies? No, but the exposure will be exciting.

AND, the workshops will be inspiring. New fiction, new poems, new discussion groups about social networking, starting bookclubs and the writing life. I'm a junkie.

See all you other junkies there!!

PUBLISHERS' RETURN POLICIES

2010-10-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

I've had several episodes with IUniverse about my book return policy in my contract. There have been two "glitches" with Ingram Distribution that portrayed my book as non-returnable for book stores. Now I've received a call that my return policy expires in February, that it only lasted a year.

I reread my contract. Ah yes, "Schedule B" numeral 2: The WORK will appear as returnable in the Ingram Title Information Database for a period of twelve (12) months after the book is listed." It was listed in February. It might take me till February to make enough money to re-list it, but I don't know the fee.

Back to my consultant, Joel, who is of course out to lunch, thanks to the time change between Montana and Indiana, where IU is located. But he calls back in due time and tells me my book "went live" on December 30, which just wasn't true. I encourage him to check his date, and sure enough, it was January 20, 2011.

And he tells me the fee for another year of return book policy: $300. Now had I been published by a conventional publisher (i.e. not self published) the publisher would be delighted to keep this policy in place in perpetuity. The author would not be paying for the book to make money for the publisher (and herself). But this is the infancy of the self-publishing industry, and I will indeed come up with the money for another year. After that? We'll see.

So my larger outlays this year so far have included $150 (Festival of the Book, 8' table, two days), $150(Writers' Conference where exposure was almost non existent), $99 (ad in Critics' Review - nothing came of it), $99 (YouTube trailer, yet to be published), $100 (minimum, gas to other areas), $1133 (100 more books, at half price from IU), and the new fee, for a total of $2031. Income? I recouped my initial loan for books of $2300 but the contract cost (+/- $1800) was a gift from my own retirement account!

Now my expenses are approaching the money I lost in a women's empowerment financial (pyramid) scheme a few years back! The difference between a hobby and an avocation is one costs money and one makes money. Guess which one writing is!

Had I more money to pour into it, would I be selling more? Who's to say. Well, on to the outline of the next book!

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS & MISCELLANEOUS

2010-10-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

Imagine my surprise when I checked my email to find an order from the Netherlands! How in the world that dear person found out about Medicine Rock I'll probably never know, although I emailed her directly!

My first stop to ship the book was the UPS store. Their first price was $81. Then they found a way to do it for $51! Then they told me the Post Office could do a lot better in this instance. Our post office is only a few blocks away, and was quiet yesterday. I was able to mail it for $13. I am hoping the recipient will let me know when she receives it!

So now I realize (after the horses are out of the barn) that my price needs to be a touch higher for out-of-country orders! Another experience of Live and Learn, or in this case Write and Learn Marketing.

I am preparing for the Festival of the Book in Missoula, MT on October 29-30. I have purchased more postcards to hand out with all the information and the cover, and my and Sun Bear's pictures. I've purchased a "baseball" hat with the book on it, just for fun. I have tent signs and one hundred books...how will it go? Chances are a few will sell, but more importantly I will get exposure, be able to chat with other authors and continue to imprint an important concept on my mind: I am a writer and an author. And my second book is beginning to gather some ingredients! It will be pure fiction, set in Montana.

More good news: Quill & Parchment, an on-line journal, published one of my poems and requested I send three more. That was a delightful surprise. I have a trailer coming soon for YouTube about the book to give further exposure. It was a $99 investment. My granddaughter wants to put a video up for me also...that should be fun!

A reader contacted me recently to say she is reading MR for the second time which totally thrilled me.

If you liked the book, please write a quick review, or a long one, on Amazon.com under my advertising. That would help me so much! Thanks, readers, more soon!

FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK

2010-09-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

I remember walking in to the Festival of the Book, Missoula, Montana, for the first time. It is staged in one of the finer hotels in Missoula. I was THRILLED! Hundreds of people who love words as much as I do! I soaked up authors talking about their writing experiences, poets reading their concise reviews of life, and met authors a few publishers. The book wasn't complete at that point.

I hadn't quite noticed that the date was creeping up when a friend, Kali Star, who has a networking website, asked if I was staffing a table for the Festival. Hmmmm, thought I. Why not? I checked out the website this morning to see that 1) they're still available and 2) they're reasonably affordable...that is to say, I could probably sell enough books to pay my account back for the fee.

And best of all, I'd have to be there at the Festival the whole time! Of course my table might not be staffed all the time, but that's understandable.

The festival is later in October. In the meantime, the first weekend of October I'll be at the Flathead Writer's Conference, where I can't sell books, but I can carry a few with me as I wander around. The conference features agents, screenplay writers, children's book authors, etc, who present in panel form to a wide range of local writers and authors. I'm looking forward to it; I'll check back later.

ROYALTIES, AT LAST!

2010-09-04T17:53:00.001-07:00

Just the sound of the word royalties brings one to a vision of red velvet and gold tassels. When the envelop arrived from IUniverse I was surprised. I'd given up on anyone buying through them, even Amazon. But no, there it was. $52, representing an unknown number of copies purchased.

I remember imagining a writer's life as a stream of words onto paper everyday (this was before computers) with a lovely view outside her window, and royalties arriving every month which paid all her bills. I have a huge capacity for imagining the world I want, not necessarily the world as it is.

But there has been a little more activity recently. I spent a week around Whitefish, Montana, chauffeuring professional medical folks to a conference focused on "The Healing Moment" offered by Dolores Krieger, creator of Therapeutic Touch as a scientifically proven model. In between arrivals and departures I dropped into bookstores which I had already contacted by phone and postcard.

The first was very disappointing. BOOKWORKS, in Whitefish, is a small store with of course rows and rows of books without any special focus I could perceive. The owner approached me and listened to my brief spiel. "Well, you won't sell any!" she said, as if declaring God's own truth. "I'll order a couple, but they'll just sit on the shelf." I expressed my appreciation and inquired if she had a shelf for local authors. "Sure, but without publicity you won't sell any. Even with publicity only one usually sells."

Sometimes I am adept at not taking things personally; after all, she said she'd order a few. I wandered over to CRYSTAL WINTERS, an amazing store only a block away that has been open for 31 years. Craig, the owner, is an old friend of my husbands, and he recognized me with little prompting. We had a wonderful chat, then I mentioned the book. "Oh I'd love to buy some," he said, "how about four. I'll buy them outright. I'm sure I can sell them!" I was pleased to say the least. The store is not really a book store but a wonderful collection of party items, clothes, games, mobiles of crystals and bells, postcards, funny jokester items, incense and candles too. I walked out with some items I'd purchased as stocking stuffers for Christmas, and a check for four books minus the 35% discount I offer book stores.

I had a display at the workshop, and sold four and traded one. I also went to a big chain bookstore and the lovely young woman promised she'd order two from the web. She was excited by it, and thought she had two places to display it.

On the way home I stopped at Doug Allard's Trading Post in St. Ignatius on the Salish Kootenai Reservation. The woman at the counter said she couldn't purchase anything and the manager would return the following week. I gifted them a book, saying how much I was looking forward to them having one. After all, Sun Bear was the first vendor at the Arlee Pow Wow to sell books about native topics. And of course I gave her a postcard in case they wanted more.

And my dear friend Jules bought two, and insisted I take her check even though I spent the whole week in her lovely little cabin, driving in at 12 or 1 at night and leaving early in the mornings. We did slide in some good chats and one playful afternoon and a dinner too, but I'm looking forward to our next time together.

So let the checks roll in! This next week I'll leave all my books at home. We're floating the Missouri and there'll be no commercial opportunities. Hoping your summer included a wild adventure and a few royalty checks too.

GIFTS OF JOY

2010-08-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

What I'm enjoying most about having books on hand is giving them away! They are a precious gift of myself that I hand over with no agenda whatsoever. The powerful cover and intriguing topics speak for themselves.

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to gift the woman who purchased the land that Sun Bear lived on for many years in Northwestern Washington. She was the officiant at a wedding we were attending near Colville. She's a tiny woman whose face reflects a quality of listening and attention we rarely encounter. We had maybe met in the past, for we both said how familiar the other looked. When I returned from our car with a book tears filled her eyes. Now we are sisters and will remember the grace of our relationship. I hope we get to sit down and visit at length in the near future.

Another opportunity came when an old friend of my daughter's arrived yesterday. We hadn't seen her in seventeen years. She is still as beautiful and even more competent in the world, speaking perfect Chinese in the business world of China, raising an adopted daughter and creating fantastic art for marketing. She had no idea of course that I'd published; in fact, she didn't even know I wrote! Her astonishment was a delight, and having my red and black bundle ever-handy, I giggled at all she will come to find out about me!

This next week I'm attending a gathering of professional practitioners of Therapeutic Touch, a process of healing using the hands in the body's field that is used for pain relief, relaxation, and sometimes diagnostic reflection. I'll have the opportunity to join the dialogue and offer the book several afternoons during the week. I'm looking forward to spreading MR seeds to the East and West Coasts!

So instead of coveting the money each copy brings, I am offering them as tools for transformation. In that act perhaps they will travel, seed and I will see the sales increase without me! By the way, the next 4 boxes of books have arrived. Now where will I store them for the short (!) time they will be with me?

RE-ORDERING BOOKS

2010-07-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

The old platitude "strike while the iron's hot" must come from horse shoeing, iron being maellable when red hot. In this case IUniverse is the red hot iron, and today I'm ordering 100 more books at a 50% discount with free shipping. The discount ends Friday.

Once I'd banked enough book profit to pay back my dear lender (who said it was an open ended gift/loan) the question arose: pay her back or take half the money and get more books. Thanks to my friend Elisabeth Hallett (THE LADY IS DELICATE) who informed me of the IUniverse deal, I'm going for it.

Not that books have been selling like hotcakes. But they will, any month now. It's like panning for gold. Keep sloshing the water through the pan, looking for glints and sparkles, which means keep searching all the leads looking for a vein that will lead to a great audience knowing about my book.

And I've committed to the Flathead Writer's Conference in October which might lead to something. Last time I went I found an agent who actually "loved" the book. Unfortunately she couldn't find anywhere to "shop" it, so our relationship was short. But it gave me the confidence that I had written something valuable to someone "in the know!"

Okay, I'm putting aside the platitudes to make the call to IU. Here we go again! May they all be sold by February, 2011!

SUMMER LEISURE

2010-07-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

It's the hot days of summer, although we've had a cool one so far here in Montana. I've been wondering if folks still read all day during the summer like I did as a child. My hangout was the public library. I was quite content to be rummaging around the stacks alone and often spent days on end just reading. I adored Nancy Drew mysteries until I got on the the rhythm of them, and could figure them out ahead of time!

I've just finished THE HELP, which I found fascinating. I uncharacteristically spent several mornings in my lovely recliner absorbing the tales of Southern aristocracy through the eyes of their black maids. I loved the various personalities of the female characters. (I want to develop that facility to truly delineate one character from the next.) And I felt the humidity, the seething rage, and the suppression of 1962 for people of all skin colors whether they were aware of it or not.

Now I'm diving into MAO'S LAST DANCER, an autobiography, that takes me to rural China during the worst Maoist period when children who drew on walls with chalk were considered counter revolutionaries and their (starving) families were threatened with dire consequences. My privilege and freedom humble me.

But I have also been looking for independent bookstores around Flathead Lake since I'll be up there for 10 days in August. I found quite a list on the web and the phonebook. I felt confident and ploughed right in sending my MEDICINE ROCK post cards and emails. A few weeks later I followed up with phone calls. The recession makes its inroads: BORDERS, closed; three other stores: phones dead; one, used books only. So I guess it's the "walk in cold" approach to the ones still standing when I get up there.

I've decided to go to the Flathead Writers' Conference in October. I attended two years ago and truly enjoyed rubbing elbows with other people who worship words like I do. Prior to the gathering I submitted a MR synopsis & other information to an agent from Tennessee. When my appointment time came (15 minutes allowed), the first thing she said was, "I love it! Believe me, I don't often say that at gatherings like this!" Well, I was just floating for over an hour afterwards wandering around the grounds of the junior college catching my breath. A professional loved my work. Wow!

So I'll set up a table this time and see what happens. And glean evermore ideas on how to proceed. I'm pretty convinced there's a "back east" connection out there with a big email list, or blog, or twitter, or whatever, that will begin a new limb of sales for MR on the east coast. But I'm a little impatient! It would be an excellent book to read summer or winter, actually. But road trips are usually in summer!

GOOD FEEDBACK

2010-07-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

This past week I've had lovely feedback about the book from folks around town: "It moves right along!" Another woman remarked "Can you believe it? I used to receive MANY SMOKES back in the seventies!"

I was pre-occupied in the grocery store when I felt a soft arm around my shoulders. "Hey Star, I'm reading your book. Got it at the public library!"

How the book was submitted to the library is a mystery. I certainly didn't approach them, but I probably should have. It's on their "New Books" shelf, available for 10 days. What a concept, my book in the library! You should understand, my middle school years were spent in our local library wandering around, reading whatever struck me, doing research about various topics, and loving the quiet and order. Libraries are places of stability and predictability to me.

Another friend told me our mutual acquaintance who is an author approached Hastings Bookstore to move his book closer to the cash register. He added some money to the offer, and up went book sales. I'm trying that one next trip into Missoula.

Like mushrooms popping up after drenching rains, these serendipitous reflections offer delight to my heart and inspire me back to the computer.

NEGLECTING THE BABY

2010-06-22T14:25:00.000-07:00

After my son died, I had years of dreams in which I would be tending a baby, then called into some other activity, then would remember the baby and not be able to find him. My subconscious was working on overtime with guilt.

My relationship with MEDICINE ROCK sort of parallels this process. It has been my baby, birthed in February, that I've been tending every day which includes sending out copies, setting up readings, trying to get book reviews and entering "first novel" contests. The last two weeks has seen a lull in the activity as I continued training for a mental health center position, and concentrated on some health issues. And yes, guilt is arising. I know from Sun Bear, and subsequently from my own life, that if you don't water a creative project, it just don't grow!

I'll be in Billings, Montana, on Saturday to say hello to the Independent Bookstore there (Barjon's), but the time frame was too short to set up a reading. (Maybe they'll buy a few copies.) And I'm setting up readings in the Flathead area in late August. Our local "health food" store asked for a display, which I thought was so lovely of them. And there's always the web, of course.

When Sun Bear would come to a standstill on a project he was invested in, he would start going around stirring up information. So my next phone call will be to a book agent who works on an international scale. A visit with her should give me a jump start. And perhaps contacting the two Bear Tribe folks in Spokane who contacted me but couldn't come to the reading.

The fertilizer for doubling my effort is in the amazing feedback I'm receiving from my readers. The most common: "It brought back so many memories of that time." Or "I couldn't figure out how you were going to end it, because obviously your life goes on!" (But of course, we have phases, don't we?) And another one cropping up is how different that era was from our current political climate. As if yeast and honey had been dropped into flour and water, the culture was bubbling up; the bacteria were gobbling and growing in the women's culture, in minority cultures, in awareness of the environmental issues we had created, in sexual morays...EVERYTHING in motion. And we all thought the lasting changes would be made within five or maybe ten years. That was adolescent thinking!

Here we are with a President who refused to bring race into his campaign, with an environmental spill unprecedented in history, with a planet undergoing catastrophic changes, with women still being raped, with children still being abused, with aging baby boomers who don't want to attend meetings.

Do I feel the pangs of guilt? Perhaps we should be called the guilty generation even though many of us have worked long hours in various political and cultural efforts and still do. We didn't create this, but marching or not, we are deeply committed to creating the new paradigms that will move us all forward.

In the meantime I sent books to Wind Daughter to sell at the North Carolina Medicine Wheel Gathering in July. I've sold well over 100 since March. And I'm going to keep on keepin' on towards compassion, justice and book sales!

AUNTIE'S BOOKSTORE

2010-06-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

If you've never been to Auntie's Bookstore, be sure to stop by the next time you're in Spokane. It is housed in an enormous historic building. You could happily spend all day there if it's raining, which it has been here in Spokane. The owner is deeply committed to remaining open, the staff are so friendly and helpful, and the assortment of books is abundant.

I used a microphone for the first time to read to about twenty folks, half of them people I know and love. Then I moved back downstairs to the main floor to sign books. I was quickly approached by an older man, Joe Collier, who photographs noteworthy authors and artists. At 85, Joe has a collection of over 800 photos to donate to the Spokane Historical Society when he passes on. He valued MEDICINE ROCK because, he said, not only is it historical, it's true. He is quite a character who tells jokes and reassured me that he's on the level, no cost to me, I get to pick the picture, etc. Then he skillfully set me up so my scarred cheek was away from the camera! He works with NO GLASSES OR CONTACTS, sharing that he learned from a Chinese woman years ago to always, continually, shift his eyes from close to far, thereby exercising the tiny muscles and keeping the eyeball round.

A woman was interested in how much money I'd be making on the book. She loves to write and has considered publishing. I warned her that there really isn't any money in it; I again realized that this is some kind of lifetime task I need to complete, as was getting my college degree, both imperative whether I'm financially rewarded or not.

Another woman whom I'd met in Manitou Park earlier showed up. We walked together through the Japanese Gardens, got to talking, and there she was at the reading, and later asked me to sign the book. She was repeating that there just are no accidents, and what an exciting day it had been!

Exciting indeed. Sold 13 at Auntie's! When Lois, the Events Coordinator, asked what arrangement I'd like, I said bookstores were asking for a 40% discount. She seemed a bit surprised, and said that was quite generous. Hmmm, maybe I'll say 30% next time!
Coupled with the sales at Sufi Camp, it's 31 so far this week. I have one more reading tomorrow night here at my friend Quan Yin's home: her book club, and more Sufi's! Although in a panic I asked my daughter to send another box, it hasn't arrived, and probably I won't need it!

After this the schedule is empty. Gotta get going on the next few rounds. It sounds like the Okanagan would be excellent, as would Moscow, Idaho. It's hard to leave my yard in the summer, but July would be a great time for sales. I'll be in the Flathead in August.

I'm hoping more folks will find the blog and let me know what they think of the book, etc. It is really heartening when someone says, "I just couldn't put it down!" Another woman said, "Half way through I thought: how can this possibly end?" And of course some people are wondering what comes next? Probably a book of short stories from the years in Seeley Lake, Montana, filled with wilderness tales and quirky folks. After that? A novel not about me!

SMALL STEPS

2010-05-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the pleasure of a reading/book signing at Fact and Fiction, in Missoula, on North Higgins. Barbara has had that bookstore since my daughter was quite young. I remember going in for books with Autumn's hand in mine, and enjoying her divese offerings in both the children's and adult sections. That part hasn't changed although her location is right on the main drag in old Missoula now.

I felt truly honored in this event. Barb had put a sandwich sign on the sidewalk, had copies of my book on the table as you walked in, and another big sign with a few notes about the book itself. Honored, that's the word, and welcomed! She introduced me herself, had read a bit of the book, and seemed really excited that I was there, along with the 12 or so folks that showed up.

Yup, more friends, bless their souls. Three came who had come to the public library reading just a week ago. That's friends! The good news is I sold 10 or so books, and Barb wanted four to have on hand that were signed already! Even my local Hamilton bookstore didn't bother to do that. They didn't value my effort for some reason. They will, soon enough!

Even more exciting to me was two women who didn't know me and purchased the book anyway. That was heartening.

Next event will be over Memorial Day weekend at Inland NW Sufi Camp on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Then on to Spokane at Auntie's Bookstore early in the week and my friend Quan Yin Lynn Williams' home on Friday.

I wish I had a picture to insert tonight, but alas, no time to do all the techno that requires. Will get to it maybe next week.

Book Recommendation for the strong of heart: WAR, new hardbound, $24.95. A journalist was embedded in a platoon stationed on the Pakistan-Afganistan border for a year. Harsh realities interpreted from the lens of why men love war, and how hard it is to return home sometimes. I'm bracing myself to read it very soon.

Thanks for checking in...we're headed to Pasco, Washington for the weekend. More soon.

THE MAZE HAZE

2010-05-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

I admit, some days are slipping by in a haze of computer searches, little lists, computer glitches (thanks to grandson who installed a SECOND modem), forays into independent bookstore lists, and, just today, a book contest.

Okay, so the odds are long, not as long as Montana Power Ball, and not so cheap either. My book gets read by folks in Cincinnati (Writer's Digest), judged, and picked in the top ten. That would be great. First prize would be even greater, but I'm a bit skeptical about first prize. If they just talk about it with a friend over lunch, and she buys it and gives a copy to her girlfriend for her birthday...gotta start somewhere.

The unseen path I am treading to bring MEDICINE ROCK to notoriety is filled with pitfalls and prattles! I just today remembered to send an email to the agent in Tennessee who liked it at one point. And I'm having lunch with an international book agent who happens to live in our valley, for any tidbits she might drop. I have yet to let THE FARM know it's out, and that would be my generation!

Another very serious issue cropped up: Ingram, distributor for IUniverse books, says bookstores won't get their money back if they don't sell MR's they've ordered. This mistake occurred in January? or was it February? IUniverse supposedly got it squared away, but this week Auntie's in Spokane called to let me know Ingram isn't playing by the rules. Back to IUniverse, by phone: get this squared away ASAP! My contract is explicit and cost an extra bundle just to have the books returnable.

In the meantime there's a little buzz in town. Yeah, really! "I heard about your book. She said it was fabulous!" "I want another copy to give to my sister for her birthday!" Nice. Makes my day. Now, on to an email to THE FARM!

PAY PAL GLITCHES

2010-05-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

PayPal has been one of the easier connections to make between the web, my bank, credit cards, etc. This morning I discovered I actually had a purchase occur through pay pal (from Michigan). But after all was said and done, I did not have her ADDRESS to send the book. Need to do a little adjustment there I guess.

I wrote to her email address and hope that will get us connected in such a way that I can mail her book, maybe today. Just another step in the marketing link, and maybe emailing is more personal anyway!

* * *

I'd like to thank WIND DAUGHTER of the Panther Lodge (and Bear Tribe) for sharing the news of my book with her email list. I've already received two orders from this thoughtful gift. Wind Daughter received the Bear Tribe Medicine Bundle from Wabun some years ago. She is located in North Carolina where there will be a Medicine Wheel gathering this August. She is deeply committed to Sun Bear's vision. Now I'll return to MR's website and see if I can put HER link up in case folks are interested!

SLEEPY TOWN SALES

2010-05-03T09:39:00.001-07:00

Saturday I had the distinct pleasure of returning to the town I lived in when first coming to Montana in 1973: Seeley Lake. I've returned before, of course, to visit friends, hike and collect larch balls. This time I returned as an author to read at the Grizzly Claw Trading Company (which used to be the Seeley Lake Merc). D and Sue have collected an amazing array of stunning objects including many fur pelts, beautiful beads and jewelry, clothing, artwork with a Native American emphasis, and a huge selection of books.

I admit, I carried my old concepts about Seeley. I strongly doubted anyone but the few friends we have up there would show up. I'm afraid I still saw the tiny mountain town as a haven for loggers and trappers. But this is not the case! We had about 15 folks, and sold TEN books! The questions were fun because most of the audience was my age, and remembered bits and pieces of the seventies.

I had worn my snow boots out of the old memories of May in Seeley when snow was still in 3-4 foot berms, and puddles froze solid at night. Again not the case: no snow in sight in the valley although the mountains still wore their winter shawls. But one thing that hadn't changed was the resident deer population wandering along the shoulders of the highway, or crossing without looking! Driving 45 mph seemed the safest thing to do, so our return journey at night was a little slower.

I've begun work on a book about Morning Star's adventures in Seeley in 1972 such as midwifing, skinning animals, working in the cafes and a deepening connection with nature when the little town had 300 residents in the winter and 500 in the summer. Now there are easily five times that number of folks in the little village that rests cozily between the Rockies and the Swan Range.

Thanks to the Grizzly Claw for their hospitality, for folks that brought goodies and wine, and for the new readers willing to open to another reading delight.

ONE STEP AT A TIME

2010-04-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

"I couldn't put it down! I stayed up way too late last night!"

"I read the whole thing in one sitting. You really touched on my experience in that era; it was an amazing time!"

I am truly humbled by the number of folks who have already given me positive feedback, and so grateful to them for shelling out the purchasing price. They've stopped me on the street, called on the phone, and flagged me down in the local cafe.

After my initial two appearances, I felt an old identity rearing her head, the one that could sell anything to anyone. I used to say I could sell coffins to teenagers, but there wasn't any objects I really wanted to sell, except maybe comfrey, but that wouldn't pay the bills. So that shining Venus woman, full of light, humor and persuasiveness went underground. Now she's back. I am so delighted to read from my book, share stories, and chat with folks about Sun Bear that I'm totally looking forward to a full spring and summer of appearances. The book is so valuable to share, in a format that is easily accessible; the time is right.

So far I have appearances in Missoula (2), Seeley Lake, Spokane, WA (2), Darby, MT (gotta get a date for that one!) and a time frame for Kalispell and Whitefish, north of Missoula.

I'm actually considering attending a Medicine Wheel Gathering in North Carolina in July to share the book with folks, and see how Bear Tribe looks now, 39 years later. It would be a stretch, given transportation, housing, and shipping books, let alone the humidity! But what a kick, and what a great market for MEDICINE ROCK. Of course I'd blog daily about the adventure.

When I first considered the marketing task I felt discouraged, my primary passion being the writing itself. But now I'm into it, see how important my personal touch is and am getting my sea legs calling bookstores cold. The worse so far was Barnes and Noble in Missoula. They don't take "print on demand" books; it's their store's policy. Is it a national policy? She didn't know. Too bad, their loss. The local bookstore made over $60 from my books in just two hours. Not bad for lunchtime, no extra staffing. The other frustration this week is getting the website up on the web. I switched from godaddy.com (don't recommend their website builder) to Intuit, but this last step of it actually making it to the web has been challenging.

Also, in all honesty I need to say that all but THREE of the 50 books I've sold have gone into the hands of my friends and acquaintances. Bless their hearts!

Now, how do we get them to the East Coast??!

VIRGIN FLIGHT

2010-04-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

I have to admit to being preoccupied yesterday, knowing I would be offering my first reading of the book to my community. I tried to be cool about it, but in fact I couldn't focus and ended up playing with my granddaughter much of the day! I had found a new skirt and blouse at the thrift store, and my girlfriend brought me a gift: a necklace of silver in the shape of a morning star. How perfect was that.

Then the question, how many books to bring? I settled on two boxes (40), but left one in the car! We set up a table where my daughter and her two girls managed the sales end. I perched on my stool from home, hoping my voice could be heard over the kitchen and cash register sounds.

With every familiar face that entered the bakery, I felt more and more excited and confident. Finally I introduced myself, and read the first chapter to about thirty people who sipped tea and coffee or enjoyed a light dinner. By the third page I noticed the atmosphere was focused, deeply quiet, and I felt the amazing honor of sharing my efforts with my dear friends, finally! No unfamiliar faces were in the audience--what a wonderful way to launch my baby!

Twenty-two books now live in others' hands and hearts, hopefully to be shared and discussed. Several people in the group knew about The Farm, and one knew Sun Bear as well. Am I tapping into the dormant culture of the seventies? Well, not really so dormant around here. Our valley has herbalists, farmers, environmentalists, peaceniks, craftspeople, and communes living side by side with Bushniks, private rightists and the extremely wealthy. We're all still doing what we did 35-40 years ago, manifesting our deepest beliefs in lifestyles and financial choices that are highly personal.

I was happy to see the surprise on the face of the local bookstore owner when I shared the number of books that had been purchased. I'll be in his space next Saturday, and I hope it is prosperous for both of us. While we were wandering around looking at the book shelves the elder granddaughter (13) came over and said, "Nana, how do you get the people on the East Coast to know about your book?" Now wasn't that the question of the day! And only a few minutes later the younger one found me to ask, "Nana, what are you going to buy with all that money?" Her brown eyes were wide and innocent.

"Books, Sarah, more books!"

With this small victory behind me I will call Missoula and Spokane and begin more scheduling. Maybe the local paper will show up at the book store? In the meantime my royalties account on IUniverse shows two books purchased from the web. My account is $6.56 in the black.

Perhaps I should start buying weekly lottery tickets! Yes, and I'll just keep working on marketing...and oh yes! I've started the next book!

THE BOOKS ARRIVED!

2010-03-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

I have just finally received the first twenty MEDICINE ROCK's via the ole brown UPS truck. The day is considerably brighter for seeing those shiny, neatly stacked, red, white, and black books, waiting to be read by folks I know and folks I don't know!

For those of you who have ordered from me already, I will be mailing your precious copies out on Monday. (I am still hiding out a bit from facial surgery, but can box them all up over the weekend.)

Just a clue: when you order from the web (unless it's from my website or me) it will take 7-10 days to arrive at your house. Gone are the days of boxes of books in the back of a warehouse waiting for instant mailing. How they satisfy the hundreds of orders for various books coming in a different times I'll never know.

I'm quite certain most of my sophisticated readers understand all of this, but just in case, I thought I'd mention it.

This is a new benchmark, a very important one, that launches me forth as a published author. Thanks one and all for your encouragement, orders and faith that I'd actually complete a very long project!

WAITING IS

2010-03-05T15:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, the books haven't arrived yet. Every day my ear is peeled for the UPS truck, or FED express, or whatever!

But checks from friends for the books HAVE started arriving.

Two events: April 3, book reading and signing at River Rising Cafe, Hamilton, MT at 5:30 - 7:30 pm; AND April 10, Chapter One Bookstore, 11 - 1 PM Book Signing (that's a Saturday).

It's not like waiting is boring, there's poems to write, contests to enter, book stores to contact, fliers to make...wow.

I've settled on $25 includes shipping for U.S. folks, $27 for Candian friends.

Wow, book orders. It's happening! Just like spring, pushing through is finally becoming visable. Hope you're filled with excitement too.

EXCERPT FROM M.R. - CHAPTER ONE

2010-02-23T15:32:00.000-08:00

Sun Bear told Morning Star that free food would draw people like flies. He was right. Two hundred people showed up that rainy Sunday afternoon to eat lamb stew and fry bread in the great circular room of the church. They came out of curiosity for the most part. The advertising called it a Potlatch, not a familiar word to most people. But the second line said “Give Away’ and that was the hook. He wanted as many people as the room could hold to announce publicly the formation of the new tribe. When they’d secured the round church he told her it was a good sign, that it would be a great day. The room was like a kiva and he said the folks from the Indian Center would know this was a sacred event.

Star had never heard the word potlatch before a month ago when they had begun working steadily getting this organized. She stood off to the side of the room, her blonde braided hair decorated with thongs that hung down her back and quail feathers nearly reaching her waist. A beaded headband encircled her forehead. She was wearing every medicine object she had. Every feather had meaning, every bead had been sewn in prayer. She had put them all on to strengthen her for what promised to be another very long day. As her eyes scanned the gathering she felt the ache in her gut return. She looked for Sun Bear.

He was easy to find in any crowd in his old, black cowboy hat. He usually threw it in the back of the car when he traveled. The creases were crinkled and dusty, but successfully covered his unruly black hair that wasn't coarse and straight like most Indians’ hair. It was soft and full and usually tangled if someone didn't brush it for him. His plaid shirt was dutifully tucked in behind his huge turquoise belt buckle that marked him as prosperous, along with two turquoise rings and a row of the bright blue stones on his gold watchband. Somehow his baggy Levi's and worn black boots added to what she now understood was his charisma.

The word had never meant much to her before last fall. She associated it with fundamentalist preachers and canvas tents surrounded by a sea of parked cars in dry, dusty fields. But she had experienced his magnetism the first time she laid eyes on him. She'd met him with a group of parents from the Free School her son went to. They'd heard he was a good storyteller. They were hoping he'd come regularly to talk with the children about Indian life. But as she was introduced she felt an electrical current pass through her that was unexpected and unexplained. She rounded up the littler kids and took them across the street to play. Her body was reverberating, down to her fingertips, and she had no idea why. She resolved to give him plenty of room. He felt dangerous.

He was motioning to her from across the floor. “Morning Star, come here and meet these people. They live down by Santa Cruz.”

She walked over, extending her hand to an older couple whom Sun Bear had been speaking with for quite some time.

“Morning Star is one of our tribal sisters. She and her husband, Grey Wolf, began our first survival camp, Medicine Rock. It is up above Placerville. Frank and Jenny have property in Santa Cruz they might let us use for the winter. How many acres was it again, Frank?”

“There's three that are level, and seven all together. I was just telling Sun Bear that we are considering trading it for some kind of income property. In the meantime, there’s a small house there that’s not being used, and the well was just re-drilled. Tell me about Medicine Rock. By the way, Morning Star’s such a lovely name.”

“Thank you, I like it. Well, we’ve been there at Medicine Rock since November. We started out with about eight of us and several children. There are 20 acres. It’s a mining claim, so we will be improving it each year to maintain the claim. It's full of manzanita, there’s a pond and some ponderosa pines. It’s quite nice now that we've begun the gardens. There’s a cabin, but we use it only for cooking, and folks have their own campsites for privacy and comfort.”

“How many children do you have, Star?” Jenny turned warmly toward her.

“Star is taking some time in the city to help us out,” Sun Bear said, ignoring the question and putting his arm protectively around her. She realized she was holding her breath as he gently squeezed her shoulder and turned to face Jenny directly.

“We have two camps in Sacramento, one in Elk Grove, and one in Davis where we’ll be harvesting fruit. We harvest for the commercial growers and then take a percentage of the crop for our winter food supply.”

Jenny was unaware he had diverted the topic. “How do you preserve the fruit? Canning or freezing?”

Star refocused on the conversation with this gray-haired woman who looked so conventional in her light blue polyester suit. She wondered what brought her today.

“We actually dry most of the fruit. We lay it out on long screens, cover it with cheesecloth and let the sun do its job. We are trying to live in the Old Ways, not to rely on electricity or gas. Of course learning these skills takes time and a lot of patience. For the time being, we're also driving cars and using telephones! How did you happen to come to our celebration today, Jenny?”

“Well, I teach literature over at the University at Davis. We often have Sun Bear over for dinner. He is such a fascinating man. This tribe of his sounds very intriguing. You know I’m too old to be changing lifestyles, but you young people have so much to learn from him, and from the Indian way. I traveled in the southwest last summer and met some lovely Indians who were selling jewelry by the side of the road. Now you know that really cuts out the middleman! Just sitting there under their shade roof, letting their kids play right in the dirt, and selling this amazing turquoise and coral jewelry!”

Suddenly conversations stopped as the sound system whined and howled for a moment. Then a smooth, confident male voice began welcoming the people.

POLLY-ANNA MATH

2010-02-22T10:34:00.001-08:00

Thanks to one of my devoted readers, Miss Prune, I've seen the error in my math and am once again facing the financial strain of being a writer. I will be thankful for what trickles my way, anticipating a flood at some future date, knowing the inspiration of the book has led me this far without starving!

Words spoken in the wilderness are vibrations resonating over and over into the universe. Words spoken in the presence of other humans have more life force and longevity. Words in a book that feed one's soul/imagination/heart transmit a unique force within the mind and body.

So far I've scheduled a signing at Chapter One Book Store, in Hamilton, on April 10, from 11-1 PM. I am expecting to have a reading and signing at River Rising sooner than that, but the date hasn't quite been solidified.

In the meantime, I'm sticking to words, not numbers!

THE PRESSES ARE ROLLING

2010-02-17T13:48:00.001-08:00

I have a lovely corrected prototype book in my hand, and the electronic data has gone to the printers! This is last step in publishing, prior to the first steps in selling! Well, not really the first, since I've been calling bookstores, trying to imagine book tours, and setting up the website (soon it will be up).

My local bookstore chooses to buy from me, which gives us both a better profit margin. And IU is correcting their technical error to their distributor (Ingrahm), so the world rights itself ever so slightly once again.

In the meantime, check out Quill & Parchment on-line ezine. I submitted two poems to them just for fun, sort of quirky poems, and they loved them! They want three more! I'm told they've been publishing online for a number of years, and I'm excited to flip the pages of my poetry notebook and see what else I can come up with. That was an unexpected surprise. I've also submitted to the local Cutbank magazine out of University of Montana, but I've received no response.

Well, the sun has arrived. I MUST go outside!

LOOK OUT FOR GLITCHES

2010-02-11T09:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my local bookseller wrote a note that he was unwilling to work with me through his distributor, Ingram, because he couldn't return unsold books, according to Ingram (one of the biggest distributers). I was appalled because I definitely paid for that service in my original contract with IUniverse.

After a phonecall and email, today I have a note from IU that they had a technical error that created that message, and they are manually trying to change it on all the distributor's lists.

If a bookstore was willing to purchase books through me personally, the discount to them is 40%. Certainly this leaves me with a better profit than the $3 through a distributor. Our local store is willing to do that, and if he can't sell them, he can return them to me. At least there's options!

I have a description of the book that I wrote on Beth's Book Review Blog:

http://bethsbookreviewblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/guest-post-morning-star-author-of.html

It will be fun to see if anything comes of it!

SECOND "DUMMY" COMING THIS WEEK

2010-02-09T07:11:00.001-08:00

I want to be sure to share with you how quick IUniverse's response was to the "glitch" of having two Chapter 15's. At this point in time the second "author's copy," that I call "dummy book," is in the mail, and should arrive today or tomorrow. THEN I call IU and they RUN THE PRESSES! Shortly thereafter I get 205 books in the mail (i.e. clean the garage asap), and can start selling them. They've been fast, I've been waylaid by a little surgery and a family crisis. Both are coming along nicely.

My daughter and I started working on the website with very little success through godaddy.com. Warning: between the challenge of working with their web builder and their sexist advertising, we're discouraged. But she's the boss on that so we'll wait and see what she comes up with. Should be done by next week: www.Medicine-Rock.com

AND, the book is "LIVE" on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. If you were to order it, you would get a message that it will be a few weeks before it's able to be sent. Through those sources my profit is about $3/book. Buying from me on Paypal it is about $11/book.

I'm starting on the next book, by the way. Just in case more adventures are interesting for you, dear readers. It's all about Montana, the blue sapphire of the west!

And book tours, first around western Montana, then to the coast, are in the making. Stay tuned!

HUMBLE PIE

2010-01-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

Checking the mail on a daily basis, hoping the "dummy" book had arrived, I gave up on Martin Luther King day because there was no mail deliveries. I came home from shopping late in the afternoon to find a small UPS package, the size of a book, on the couch. There it was, in all its glory! I ran out to the studio to show my husband, who was building a threshold for a door. He was nearly as excited as I, and we stood holding each other to see this baby born of our devotion to pursue our highest dreams. A new threshold.

We gazed at the sliver of moon in the south west sky, offering good beginnings for the new phase. We celebrated with friends in the neighborhood, and then went out to dinner. The book came with,a silent member of our celebration. I hugged it to my chest like a newborn while I drove through town.

Later, stretched out in bed, I began checking through it for errors, reading here and there, especially noting that the ends of a chapter and the beginning of the next chapter were correct. I came upon an astonishing error that only I could have made: two chapter fifteens, one that by all rights should have been chapter sixteen, the last one in the book. My balloon deflated, another cost, another wait.

I'm not even going to the "how could this ever have happened?" place. Somehow the innumerable edits by me, and the one excellent edit by a dear friend failed to reveal this flagrant error. I can only say the Universe wants this book available later in the spring than I ever imagined, for reasons unknown.

This morning the telephone call to IUniverse (after the email) was difficult. The folks who dealt with me were lovely, sympathetic, informative. But the charges would come to $300 more. I gasped, because I thought they'd only be $100. But it must be done.

The process is straightforward: I have up to 25 corrections I can make on the forms they will email today. I return them, they print a new "dummy" copy and mail it out (this part took 30 days last time). I review it, okay it, and the order is placed for 185 copies (+ 20 freebies) which will arrive in March, with no shipping charges (saving about $155).

Dear reader, if this tries your patience, imagine the level of deep breathing going on in my body today! Many adjustments to be made in scheduling, manifesting and, well, we'll have a lot more time to work on the website (which presented endless difficulties yesterday)!

Dear self-published author: Beware. Edit. Remain open to surprising changes!

THE PROFIT MARGIN

2010-01-09T11:06:00.000-08:00

I was excited to receive a call from another "consultant" from IUniverse. By now I know they may or may not be professionals in the publishing field, but they are sales people for sure. Friendly, helpful sales folks.

He had answers to my next set of questions so I could make decisions about how many books to order when the time came. And it's coming right up. I should get the one dummy copy this next week, and he requested I call him with the "OK to print" AND my order for discounted copies. As he rattled off the percentages for discounts, I wrote them down, and then quickly ciphered how much money I'd need to order copies. It looked good, even at this squeezy financial time of the holidays. I let a day lapse and returned to my notes with my calculator.

My notes read: 500 copies: 55% discount; 250 copies: 50% discount; but 300 copies(51% discount, my guess), includes 300 free postcards, bookmarks and business cards, and free shipping. (This information from an email that arrived right after the salesman's contact information. I think they call that the "hook!")

In my original scribbles my new investment would be under $500, but alas, the calculator is the reality check. Were I to purchase 300 books, an outlay of $3511, I would need to sell 152 at full price, to pay back my investment loan. I think I can do that. But I regret borrowing money from friends.

These kinds of deliberations keep one awake at night! Especially one who leans toward right brain activities instead of left brain. But for those of you interested in the IUniverse program, it gives you a clue, and gives me a clue, that to pay back the loan within three months, I need to sell at least 50 a month, in person, to avoid shipping fees!

And lest you imagine there's a big profit margin for books sold over Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local bookstore, it amounts to about $3-4 per book. Oh, and IUniverse's first quarterly payment won't arrive till May, 2 months after the closing of the quarter. They need to make their interest, after all.

I need to make a phone call after quelling my fears of asking for a loan. I might work outside a little bit to approach the task. It's the warmest part of today, 32 degrees. The cold harsh realities of publishing on a cold and gloomy day.

BOOK REVIEWERS

2009-12-29T21:29:00.000-08:00

The shiny new piece of information today was that there are folks who read new books and review them on their blogs! What an incredible gift to us readers, and to new authors. One allowed that he was indeed a speed reader, and wouldn't you have to be given the number of authors vying for reviews?

So I recommend two such blogs: josephsreviews@gmail.com and bethsbookreviewblog@gmail.com in case you'd like just a taste of a few new novels, like appetizers before a big meal.

The trick of course is to get reviews before the book gets too old! Keep up the momentum. So I'm marching briskly down the cobblestone street before I've even received the paperback galleys (the REALLY FINAL edit), which are due at the end of January. And I'm pounding on my drum, bells jingle on my ankles and I'm wearing a bright red uniform with a tall hat. And I asked them both to review MR.

Suppose the reviewer isn't impressed? This small voice arises from somewhere below my ribcage. I need to toughen up. Not everyone will like MEDICINE ROCK. But it has value and an important message anyway. Stay tuned.

Onward Through the Fog

2009-12-26T11:40:00.000-08:00

It isn't foggy today, it's brilliant sun with blue sky contrasting the new snow on the mountains. The fog is the cloud of ignorance I experience working with the new social networking tools, and trying to get my ideas and the template's ideas to merge! New email: medicinerock71@yahoo.com. New website: www.medicine-rock.com. Now to get them all connected.

Last night a friend of mine hauled out a 4-inch 3-ring notebook. "I've got to remember to give this back to you! Thank you for letting me read it!" I had to smile. So many corrections, additions, subtractions and adjustments had been made to that text in the last few months! I fantasize saving the notebook, and having a ritual burning of the double-spaced error-ridden manuscript she offered back to me, all 360 pages of it. Today might be a good day!

Clear the decks! Clean off my desk, really clean: sand it and polyurethane it! Dust my bookcase, change the stuff on the wall! It's a new life without an old manuscript!

Actually, tomorrow I'm going to the country for a couple of days. My smallest dog and I will hang out north of Missoula for long walks along the Flathead, and inspiration from the Rockies.

But today? Let's see, where did I put those matches?

WINTER SOLSTICE

2009-12-22T12:43:00.000-08:00

What better beginning than Earth Renewal, and a new growing moon. The book is delivered, the contract signed and sealed. Editing is, quite thankfully, over. I am so pleased to offer my story to readers interested in those profound days of growth and change.

The book is in its Solstice phase: unseen, gestating, paper laboring under printing presses that roar and tremble sidewalks blocks away. Many hands serve the mission: pressmen, book consultants, marketing advisors. Before long we'll add bookstore owners, post office delivery people, the list only expands. IUniverse reports retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Books-a-Million will upload the book to their websites within a couple of weeks, and the process will be complete at other major chains withing 3 to 4 weeks.

All of this to share a poignant story, to touch other hearts grieving their beloveds, to remind a generation of us, now greying at the temples, of our wild and wonderful roots. And we still watch and wait. We still grieve. We still offer our warm hearts to the Earth and all her creatures.

Many of you have expressed excitement at this project, so this blog will be a way to share my learning curve, joy and sense of adventure. Thanks for visiting!