I start my day earlier than a lot of people because those early hours are when my energy is highest and my brain seems to work best. I’ve done this all of my adult life, I guess, but especially since I left my day job and became a writer for real. That’s about sixteen years ago now!
Before that I was a high school English, French and Computers teacher with my days scheduled by the school timetable. I got used to that but now getting out of bed in the morning is even more of a pleasure because I can go right to my office and create. Yay!
Usually I start with my Inbox and deal with anything that needs attention. Then I check my calendar and note what events I have coming up that need me to do preparation, like speaking gigs or similar things. Right now I have to come up with a bunch of conversation points to use when I introduce and interview Terry Fallis in a couple of weeks. (He’s the guest speaker at a big event the London Writers Society is having on May 8.) Another speaking event in April is with me as the guest speaker for an Oxford County group, talking about learning from the past as a way of informing the future. That is being held at the church where I grew up and which is mentioned in My Story, My Song. I’ll be preparing a Powerpoint presentation as well as involving the audience with their knowledge about the subject matter.
Just now I’m more than half way through checking for errors as my interior book designer (Shelley at To The Letter) sets up my manuscript in InDesign. This is my final chance to catch errors and I am scrupulous. I HATE to find anything wrong! I figure in another week we’ll have it done. Then comes the full cover with my cover designer, complete with comments about the book, a short synopsis, a bio about the author (or in this case, the author/editor), and making sure the proper ISBN gets put on the back cover. Yes, an earlier book came out with the wrong ISBN!
Another job I work on every day these days is editing a fifty page, every line document and then typing it into Word. The original was typed by my mother whose eyesight had failed badly by the time she was typing this so there are a lot of errors. I’m amazed she could do as well as she did with only the peripheral vision she had when she wrote this over twenty-five years ago. This is a labour of love about which I will tell you more down the road. This typing/editing will take me about 2-3 weeks, I think.
My website designer is working on a brand new layout for my website so that has been taking a bit of time. I think you are going to love it. It’s beautiful, creative, user-friendly, and intuitive. Maybe we’ll have it up and running by the end of this week. Check back often to see.
I also have a marketer who is helping me make sure this new book is out 
there in the world. Canada: Brave New World is very exciting simply for the true stories in it but also for the family histories that shed light on just who we Canadians are. Whether you are Canadian or another nationality, I’m sure you’ll be enthralled. Launch date is June 4th.
I’ll bet a lot of you use social media outlets to let the world know what’s happening with you. I do the same. I mostly use Facebook, used to use Twitter, am trying to do more on Instagram and Pinterest, and now and again I use direct emailing. Of course those people on my newsletter list hear from me twice a month about whatever is happening in my writing life and even sometimes with an unpublished short story or article I’ve written. (Sign up on my website if you haven’t already.)
Luckily this all keeps me quite busy doing things I love. That’s what retirement means to me. Having time to do those things that speak to my soul. If you’ve read this far I have a free gift for you: My newly published audio book for My Story, My Song. I have codes for a very few copies of the audio book to give out. Email me if you want a code and I’ll send you one for free as long as they last. I only ask that you give me a review after you’ve read the book. Easy peasy!
So those are some of the things filling up my days. In the evenings I watch my favourite programs on TV and wind down so I can go to sleep early. Not a good time to email me and expect anything very brilliant coming back at you.
Don’t forget to ask me for your free audio book code!
