My grandson and his wife are coming to dinner to give me some advice. I am so blessed. They are both writers, but not like me. If I were starting out today to hang my shingle as a "writer", I'm sure I wouldn't make it. I'd be selling craft jewellery and kitschy stuff at a gift shoppe. Even in my time, it was accepted wisdom not to attempt to make one's living as a writer. "Don't quit yer day job,"i was told. (I didn't have a day job.) I began to realize I was setting a precedent when journalism students started calling me for my story and the Canadian Authors' Association asked me to speak, as the Canadian widow tells all, and following that, McMillan Publishing offered me a contract to write a book on How to .Succeed as a Writer in Canada, when I hadn't even sent them a pitch.

There are more outlets for one's writing today. Free platforms abound, but the markets are tougher. I have lived so long that I have outlived, not only my doctors, but more importantly, my agents and my contacts in both the publishing and theatre fields. So, as I am finishing my new book, I'm looking around for a market, especially in e-books and self-published books. Enter my talented grandson and grand-daughter-in-law. I have to find out how to establish an online presence so I can sell myself, and my book. I've been writing my blog for about a year now and I have about three devoted readers. I need more than that, no offence intended.

Not that I want to go viral. That looks awful. I'm certainly not trying to compete with a Grumpy Cat or a homeless man playing the piano. (That's the extent of my knowledge of going viral.) I just want to enlarge my audience and sell a few books. I'm hoping the next generation will tell me how to do it.

I'm planning a nice dinner.