​1633-1634  Smallpox  70% of Native American population dies.
1793 Yellow fever  centered in Philidelphia  5000 died 17,000 fled city
1832-1866 Cholera in 3 waves  - 1 million dead
1906-1907 “Typhoid Mary”  10,771 died
1921-25 Diphtheria epidemic  206,000 cases
1916-1955 Polio 57,628 cases  3145 deaths
1950 - 1960 Measles outbreak  762,000 cases
2010, 2014 Whooping cough
1980 to Present  HIV/Aides  1.2 million cases
2020 Covid 19    ????
 
History teaches us two lessons.  First, we need to change ourselves and our society to avoid repeating disastrous events.  Second, we do survive.  This too shall pass.
 
 

​All Americans have been asked to socially isolate themselves and I believe it is both our moral and civic responsibility to comply.  My calendar has gone from chock full to empty in a single day.  At first all that white space was terrifying.  My life felt blank just like my calendar.
I decided to pause and give myself time to reflect on what to do with all my new found free time.  After just one evening my three rules came to me.
 
3 RULES
 
Rule #1  Read every day
 
Rule # 2 write every day
 
Rule # 3  get outside every day
(hike, walk, birding etc.)
 
In my last job before retirement I worked for a health care organization during the H1N1 virous outbreak.  I volunteered for pandemic training to help our organization complete continuity of operations plans.  Watching all the measures unfolding now I am assured that they are all a part of a well thought out response to minimize the spread of the virus.
It is sad that there is social disruption to families, especially with school. Library and event location closing.  We need to become creative and learn the patience needed for our new togetherness.

I didn’t attend a single author event in 2019 due to our decision to down size.  I also suspended working on the manuscript of my fourth novel and didn’t begin again until the last week of December. 

I knew I would need to get back to marketing and decided I would sell books at the 2020 UW Madison Writer’s Institute in March.  I am presenting a class in How to Improve Your Writing with Cinematic writing.  I will be using selections from my third novel as examples.  I hope this may generate moderate sales.

In mid-January through the Henschell Haus Author Success Circle I learned the new Waunakee Library would be hosting their first ever author signing event in late February.  There was a limit of 20 authors so I zapped off an email to the librarian organizing the event and was selected.
I have all my book materials in one corner of the basement and knew it wouldn’t take me long to organize a travel kit.  I amazed myself at how well prepared I was.

The event was from 1:00-3:00 on a Saturday afternoon in a room in the library far off the beaten path of patrons.  I was pessimistic about sales and took only five copies of each book.  I also discounted sales - $17.00 for 1 book  $20.00 for 2 books and $30.00 books.  My hook was a bowl of mini hersey milk chocolates in the center of the table.
​
Traffic was very light.  People walked in a clockwise direction and I was the next to the last table if they made it that far.  I counted about 10 customers in the two hours.