What 20th century author would you have dinner with, if you could choose anyone living or deceased?  For me it would be Ray Bradbury who died last June at the age of 91.  Bradbury had a unique creative genius and a gift for storytelling that sucked you into a story and then lead you to believe the most incredible, surrealistic things.   I suspect that most boys, at some point, have an obsession with Bradbury, mine started in high school and lasted until my mid 30’s.

At dinner I would ask Ray how he imagined stories such as Fahrenheit 451 and the Martian Chronicles.  Although Bradbury’s reputation rested on science fiction and dystopia societies, I like the “down home” books like:   Something Wicked This Way Comes, Dandelion Wine and I Sing the Body Electric.

Bradbury was a self-made writer, didn’t attend college and didn’t attend writer’s conferences or have an MFA.  Bradbury took Faulkner’s advice, “Don’t be a writer.  Be writing.”

Who would you have dinner with?  

I’m posting a day early this week and posted a day late last week, not that anyone would notice.  My former publisher strongly encouraged me to develop an author/book website.  I completed my own research and agreed it was a good idea.  I selected ipage because it allows you to include a blog on your website.  To me, that seemed efficient.  I wasn’t keen on supporting both a website and a separate blog site.

My webpage went live in December 2011 and I posted my very  blog on 12/12/11.  I have not been consistent in posting blogs, I admit it.  I accept responsibility for not seeking visitors to my website by posting interesting blogs weekly.

However, in the past 14 months the number of comments I’ve received can easily be counted on one hand.   So I’m beginning to wonder if I made a tactical mistake to bury my blog within my website.  Should I have created a separate blog on blogspot like many others have done?

Everyone in blogland – help me out.  Let me know if you think it would be worthwhile to create a separate blog on blogspot?  

I am new to freelance writing for income, it’s just been three years.  I like to freelance because it gives me an opportunity to research and write about the “real world” things that matter to me like; farm to fork issues, organic gardening and other green topics.

I talked with a friend who is a retired Journalism professor and he advised me to send out a ton of queries and develop a portfolio of “clips” that I could use to build credibility and some authority in my area of interest. He told me that initially don’t expect to be paid but with each publication I had reference material for the next query.

After a year I decided it was time to get paid for my research, time and writing.  I targeted regional publications because I thought it more likely to get published versus a national publication at this stage of my freelance career.  I received a phone call from the owner of a regional publication after sending a query about a friend who raises heritage Belted Galloway cattle.  The article and five pictures were accepted and published in the February 2011 issue.  I received a copy of the publication but no check.

I sent several e-mails but never received a check.  Later that year I received an e-mail asking for submissions to the same publication.  I sent an inquiry.  Again, my inquiry was accepted.  I responded that I would submit an article only if paid for the first article.  The owner assured me that I would receive payment for both articles.  My second article was published in Jan-Feb 2012 issue.  Guess what?  No payment.

In mid-December 2012 I received another e-mail asking for submissions.  Again, I responded I would be happy to submit if I received payment for my previous TWO articles.  Then I was asked to submit an invoice.  No problem, invoice submitted.  I waited.  A month went by – no check.  Two months went by- no check.  Finally on March 6th I received an e-mail that a check would be sent soon plus copies of the publication my articles appeared in.  I waited. 



The check arrived on March 11th and I cashed it the next day – you can’t be too careful.  My experience is getting paid for freelance work is a roulette wheel.

   

The theme for the readings the Winter Session of my book group TUESDAY MORNING BOOKTALS IS “Unhappily Ever After”.  One of three books in the series is The Living is Easy by Dorothy West.    One reason for being a member of a book group is to get the opportunity to read books you generally wouldn’t chose for yourself – not out of bias – out of ignorance.

Dorothy West was a member of the famous Harlem Renaissance.  The Living is Easy was published in 1948 but sadly went out of print.  West didn’t publish fiction again until 1995 at the age of 85 when The Wedding was published.  Oprah Winfrey turned the book into a TV mini-series.

The Living is Easy tells the story of a middle class Black family in Boston at the turn of the 20th century.  The family matriarch and protagonist Cleo (Cleopatra) runs a household of sisters, children and her husband with a unique maternal vision, gile, lies, conniving, ingenuity, and improvisation.  For me, Cleo will be one of the most memorable characters in literature.

While successful for many years, Cleo’s husband, Bart Judson, loses his fruit importing business and moves to New York City to find a job and send money home for the family.

The book raises the themes of intraracial oppression, assimilation into a white society and how marriage can be suffocating.

I highly recommend reading The Living is Easy, it will change your world view.

If any readers have ready Dorothy West,  I invite you to post a blog on this site.