That’s all I got to write. My Leap Day leapt right out of sight. Nice day, though.
So now it’s Happy March the First.
And for me it’s out to pasture and delightful. I woke yesterday morning with lovely random free thoughts roaming round in my head. I wrote some of them down after I got up, because they’re to be pursued. but I never got back to my Leap Blog. Matt and I were taken out to lunch, (sushi) as a belated birthday celebration for the two of us ( just 2 weeks and 30 years apart); I finished reading a Colin Dexter (Morse) detective story; I watched a movie with Matt (Frozen 2); I was invited to a Happy Hour with food and champagne (more belated birthday for me)—
and I broke my abstinence. Remember, I gave up alcohol for February. Well, I split a Japanese beer (Sapporro- sp?) with Matt over lunch, and I drank Prosecco champagne over my Happy Hour and it went to my head. I gave Matt some supper (I couldn’t eat anything ). He went home and I went to bed, and there went my Leap Day and everything I had planned to do.
I usually (yes)) use Leap Day to rewrite, that is, bring up to date, my IDs and profiles for my various associations: TWUC, PGC, Wikipedia, but I am caught up with the Canadian Who’s Who. But It didn’t get done. I will enclose, if I can, the Book Backgrounder I developed with my publisher for my book ENDINGS: A BOOK FOR ALMOST EVERYONE (as if you didn’t know).
I’ll let that do for now:
“The briefest summary I can give of my book is that it’s about me. It’s a memoir; a travel chat about some of the places I’ve visited; a report of some of my discoveries made during a lifetime of reading, with lots of references to writers I have enjoyed; an account of events I’ve experienced in the course of my writing career—um, what else?
You know that story about the six blind Indians? (They were Indian in the oldest version of this story.)
“A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an
elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware
of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and
know it by touch, of which we are capable". So they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. In the case of the first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, he said "This being is like a thick snake". For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said the elephant, "is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear. “ (Wikipedia)
Well, my analogy is that my book is the elephant in the room. Depending on where you touch it—or it touches you—it’s analytical, funny, literary, informative, personal, general, and yes, touching, I hope.
It is not a book about dying or getting ready to die, nor is it questioning my life and what lies ahead. I do ask one question that persists in coming up – for you, too, I bet – and that is, who am I?
Read my book to find out.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Betty Jane Wylie is a published author, poet, librettist, lyricist, playwright and screenwriter and, since 2015, a blogger. Her books include biography, financial planning, self-help, belles lettres, poetry, plays and cookbooks. She has been writer-in-residence at several libraries in Canada and has conducted writing workshops, including playwriting.She has a B.A. (Double Honours) in English and French, an M.A. in English (20th century poetry) and a D.Litt. from the University of Manitoba, and was a fellow of The Bunting Institute at Radcliffe/Harvard, where she wrote a play about a diarist, Alice James. She also has an Order of Canada (2003).
AUTHOR Q&A
1.What inspired you to write this book? Why did you write this book?
I wrote the book because that’s what I do, have done, all my life—write. It’s like breathing: I do it every day.
2. What do you hope readers will get from reading your book?
I hope first of all that they will get pleasure from reading it. I tell stories and anecdotes and report on discoveries and adventures and ideas that trigger my thinking and I hope in others.
3. Why should someone buy your book?
Someone should buy the book for the pleasure of reading –and re-reading—it. I have called it s dipping book. You can tell from the Table of Contents what you want to read again.
4. Tell me something not in the synopsis.
I have not put my Icelandic connection in the synopsis. My maternal grandparents emigrated from Iceland, met and married in Winnipeg and moved up to Gimli (Manitoba), where I spent every summer of my life until I was 13 years old. This background has had an enormous influence on my life and writing. In fact, it’s the inspiration for my next book.
5. What part of the book are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my Epiphanies. Discoveries are very important. I wish for my readers that they may be led to similar revelations in their lives.”
That’s all for now.