All my life, I have been writing. Well, at least since I was about seven or eight years old, I have been writing something. It has generally been prose and mostly non-fiction. I have always thought that real life was very interesting and full of good material.
Everyday events make very good telling. I never felt the need to create any characters or events! I have written about dogs, the Purebred Dog Fancy, and the travel that going to dog shows involved. I was published in some of the dog publications and I always enjoyed the process. First, I had the event, then I wrote about it and then I saw what I wrote in print.
I took extra credits in creative writing and business & technical writing. Of course, being Canadian and receiving my education in Ontario, I spelled differently than I do now. Although, sometimes I might forget and I ask the favour of you that you favor me with excusing that I might do this sometimes, eh?
Then, of course, I might be talking about the "washroom" which is in Canada what we call the "restroom" in Texas. In Texas, if you find a "washroom", it is a laundry area with a washer and dryer!
At one time, I wrote for a weekly newspaper in a small town northeast of Toronto. I learned a lot there, particularly about editors. I will not elaborate on that!
I did publicity and public relations for dog shows and I loved doing that! I would write the copy and send it out in the Metro Toronto area and wait to see what would happen. I confess that I prayed for a slow news day when my event was on. Then, I might get four minutes on the six o'clock news!
That is a specialized field and the first thing I learned was that people would let you have their dogs to take on TV but they were not prepared to appear on TV themselves. So, I learned to go to interviews myself with their dogs.
I would tape the programs so that the next time I would do better and eventually, I was not quite so nervous but times when I had three dogs at one time with me, the professional broadcasters got rather nervous. I still have those tapes and it is amusing to watch them.
Because I was so immersed in the Dog Fancy, I really had to know something about all the breeds. That might seem like trivial information, but actually, it has continued over the years to help me make friends, even after coming to Texas.
When we moved to our home where we still live, I was standing in the driveway, waiting under cover of the garage in a light misting rain. A couple about my age came along with a giant of a dog and smiled so I said, "Hello". Long story short, when I named their dog's breed as Dogue de Bordeaux, they were impressed and we made our third set of friends.
When I came here, I had a story to tell. I had been widowed and I had found a wonderful Hubby on widownet.org and moved from the Toronto area to East Texas. There has got to be a story there, right?
Well, I wrote it and Hubby and I went to writer's conferences and we pitched my story. But the New York agents seemed to be more interested in free drinks than a Canuck's story. Eventually, we gave up and I put it aside.
Well, the printing world has vastly changed and I can print my book myself at a very interesting place called lulu.com.
So, that is what I am working on right now. I will try to keep you posted on how I am doing.
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