History

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Comment by Ray Osborne on July 13, 2009 at 1:22pm

This month is the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11. Does anybody remember this
event? What do you remember?

I recently interviewed a number of people about the Jeannie event 40 years ago, it is amazing how memories are blurred and some people get the facts wrong.

-RKO

Comment by Ray Osborne on April 14, 2009 at 8:17pm

I wrote a book to support my local museum and now I am looking for
the finishing touch. A quote from a VIP or a President about how wonderful
museums are. Anybody recommend an inspirational quote that they know
when it comes to the invaluable role that museums play to our culture?

-RKO

Comment by Kim Robinson on March 27, 2009 at 3:45am

I am doing a workshop against abuse on May 1st in Alabama
would like to do a raffle
Please send donations to 1110 TimberCreek Drive
Allen Texas 75002

Comment by Alan Brunwin on March 24, 2009 at 11:03am

Hi Ray if the agents are coming, that's good news, they don't usally get out of bed for less than a bank raid. They only turn up when there are mega bucks to be made. So we rename them the GREEDY GRABBERS! fits them down to a tee.

Comment by Debra (Brock) Bateman on March 23, 2009 at 8:22pm

Hello,
I write romantic fantasy poetry and I research my personal family history, thanks for the invite Shelagh!
-Debra : )

Comment by Ray Osborne on March 17, 2009 at 6:47pm

The agents are coming, the agents are coming.

Quick, look busy. :-)

Comment by Carol Troestler on March 15, 2009 at 2:26pm

I had a regular job in social work where I wrote quite a lot. I wrote treatment plans, progress notes, all about people's lives, and I wrote them like stories they could read if they requested. I wrote a policy book that was read by few, but got rave reviews by the state administrators of clinics like mine. I wrote books for schools that were purchased by many in our state and had rave reviews as well. I watched kids perform the play I had written at conferences. Now I am retired and love writing. I never expected monetary success, being aware of how difficult that was, but I want to write history in ways it will be read and thought about. I want to write facts and let people come to their own conclusions. I try to write facts, and the challenge is I want them to come out not encyclopedic but more like fiction.

Comment by Janet Elaine Smith on March 15, 2009 at 1:30pm

Ray,
You asked, "And most of all I am happy with my career. Are you?"
As my mother used to say, Absotively posolutely. I feel like I am living my dream. It comes not from the amount of sales as much as the quality of comments I get back from readers. I used to think it was only Ann Landers who had true die-hard fans. Now I find that I have a very faithful following--yes, "fans." It absolutely boggles my mind. The same thing is true when I got to places like Amazon and see that I have all those books there. Of course if you do a search on Amazon you will get close to 40 titles that pop up. Some of them are from previous publishers that have bitten the dust, or even a couple of family history books that I did just for family members and they were never technically "published," unless you count my running to Kinko's to make a copy of them to send to some relative someplace. I have no idea at all where Amazon got wind of books like that. And the best part of it is that Ann Landers has been dead for several years, and I plan on writing until I'm at least 124 years old! I have to to get all of those characters out of my head.
So, to answer your question, I couldn't be happier with the way my writing career is going. When I started writing I never even dared to think of it as a "career."
To give you some idea, when I got back from a long day out yesterday (to an arts & craft fair where I sold 12 books--but made a lot of new friends as well) when I got home I had over 400 e-mails waiting for me, and only about 10 of them were spam. Of course about a dozen was from this group, but I figure they are "friends." LOL! Some of the others were from friends and family (I have most of my e-groups on "no mail" and just check them on the boards), but the balance of them were from readers--some well-established and some new ones. It doesn't get much better than this.

Now, one other comment I might add (before I bore you to tears) is that I have found a much better "meter" of what is selling currently to be by talking to bookstore employees and/or managers. They have the real pulse on what people are reading. And that varies by geographical location. I haven't found any common denominator. And things that an agent will tell you are long gone are things like time travel, but many bookstore people say they are always in demand. So who's right? You figure it out.

I sincerely hope you are ALL having as much fun on this ride as Ray and I are having!

Comment by Ray Osborne on March 15, 2009 at 5:05am

The following is a public domain picture by Lemoyne of the Timucuan native lost tribes of North Florida.

Discussing the role of women in native cultures was well received by my audience at my seminar for Women's History Month.

-RKO

Comment by Ray Osborne on March 15, 2009 at 5:01am

Thats okay,Janet.

No you won't squelch my ardor, as I would not allow that. I am

planting seeds

by my letters to agents and publishers.
I believe it will happen just the way it is supposed to. If I am to find an agent I will, if I an not supposed to then I won't. Everything is under control and my literary career is taking off just the way it is intended. I throw out leads like seeds everywhere and the right ones grow with multiplied opportunities.

And most of all I am happy with my career. Are you?

-RKO

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