Are goals powerful? Dreams, aspirations! I’ve been a goal-oriented person for most of my life. I’d like to share one experience I had many years ago and then a current one.
Goals at Washington Middle School in the 90s
In the 90s, I held the position of technology coordinator for Washington middle school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, along with my teaching assignments. Our school realized the importance of networking the building and the future of the internet. We were on the cusp of having a networked school. The internet held the future.
At our end-of-the-year tech committee meeting, we brainstormed our technology needs for the next year. I reminded this hard-working committee the rules of brainstorming (and dreaming big): any idea goes—don’t hold back. The list went on and on. They took me at my word—their vision astonished me! That night I typed up the long list, the list that encompassed all of our hopes and dreams!
We made our tech plan based on this list, our goals for the next year. Then we presented the proposal to our legislators who would fund our technology needs, and. . . We achieved everything on the list that next year!
That lesson stuck in my mind over the years when I faced mountains to climb that seemed unattainable!
Goals Now as an Author
So, after joining a book coaching group this year, our coach Derek Doepker, encouraged us to set a goal for our book sales for 2023. Even though I’m a goal-oriented person, I had never done that! Then he added a caveat: expand it by 10. So, I did, and this was in September or October. Much of 2023 was already gone.
I wrote my goal on a post-it and said it out loud every day. Also, I wrote it on a small board and placed it by my desktop computer to remind me of it. Recently, I have been advertising my new book like crazy—much more than I have ever done before.
Now, here we are twenty-one days until the end of the year! Have I reached my goal? No, not even close! So what do I do?
I decided to share my dilemma with you and maybe you could help! Any of my seven books count towards this goal—e-book, paperback, hardback or audiobook.
Two updates on two important features of my life. We thought our cat, Jesse, was gone twice in the last few weeks, but he’s the miracle cat for sure. Also, I’ve turned the corner on my new book! I will release it in e-book format in the next couple weeks and the paperback at the end of September!
Two Updates: Jesse, the Miracle Cat
Jesse has lived for twenty years, which is equivalent to 96 years old in people years. He has feline diabetes, and I used to give him three units of insulin twice a day.
On Thursday, August 24, something happened; we think he had a seizure. For the last couple of years, we have had problems with Jesse vomiting, but it increased. To keep track of how often he vomits, I have kept track of it. However, this day was horrible, and it got worse.
First, Jesse vomited in the hallway on a towel I had put down because the had vomited there before. I cleaned it up, but left the towel until the carpet dried. He had one episode in the kitchen, peeing on the carpet in the living room and liquid coming out of him. He howled, an eerie sound from the depth of his being. Then I took himself outside on the patio, and that’s where he had something like an epileptic episode. He had tremors. His eyes glazed over, and I had to hold him so he wouldn’t hurt himself because he was rolling around. He lost control of his bowels. He howled again! I shed lots of tears. Then he came out of it for a few days, but again it changed.
Then Jesse had two consecutive days, vomiting twice each day, so on Tuesday, August 29, I called the vet and took him in. They decided to keep him over night, and the vet talked to me about the possibility of euthanizing him. I decided I had to do at least one more thing: a night in the hospital might help.
And it did. They fed him intravenously and did numerous tests. Several problems arose for him besides the diabetes: pancreatitis, low potassium, and low red blood count. That’s a lot!
After a restless night, Wednesday morning, we took his insulin up to the hospital. At this point, we didn’t know if he was dead or alive. At Lin’s suggestion the night before, I had prepared myself that he was dead, but Lin kept a positive mindset. He was alive! Later Wednesday afternoon, the vet decided one more night in the hospital, so I picked him up about 5:00 PM on Thursday. The tech then gave me some changes for him: one unit of insulin once a day and wet cat food for diabetic cats. ONE UNIT! I thought that was a mistake, but she repeated it then and when I called to check Friday morning. So the over-dosage of insulin possibly could have caused all the vomiting. Oh, diabetic cats are a mystery for sure! Lots of tears shed again!
When we got home, Jesse was weak, yet looked a lot better than when I took him in. I had to get a shot for him and give it to him on Friday for the low blood count. He has eaten like a starving maniac! So, maybe the dry cat food for diabetic cats was part of the problem, too! Who knows?
Needless to say, he is doing great! Yesterday I spent the majority of the morning and early afternoon outside, and he joined me—Lin’s garden is his favorite place on earth! I’ll keep you posted on his recovery!
Two Updates: My New Book
I said I had two updates, so here’s the second one. It might appear odd, but I’m working on a Christmas book now. Sales statistics show people buy Christmas books starting in September and I’m running behind schedule.
So here’s cover and subtitle reveal for you! The title came easily; I’ve labored considerably over the subtitle. Last week, I surveyed my book coach and his group, and they were split! They felt either would work! For the last few days, I did a survey on Facebook and came up with one a little ahead of the other. So here’s the winner:
As a self-published author, I have the opportunity to do all the legwork behind the scene of creating the book. Yes, I write it, but I also design the interior in different formats: paperback and e-book. I also organize all the launch promotions and do all the marketing. What a daunting task, but this time, I have had the help of Derek Doepker, my book coach, and his coaching group.
Finally, these two updates stirred my life up this week. Hopefully Jesse stays well and continues to improve, and I finish all the needed tasks to get my book finished, uploaded and available to you, the readers!
Grab my e-book at the book launch price of $1.99 for a limited time:
Gone but forgotten? Really? Flippo died on November 4, 2018. Yes, five years ago this year. And It might appear people have forgotten him. In my mind, Marshall Flippo was and is a legend in square dance history; therefore, this book is not only a biography, but a history book. It’s not old news; it’s timely news! How could people forget him so quickly?
Recently, I had a booth in the vendor’s room at the International CALLERLAB Convention in Reno, Nevada April 23-26, to sell Marshall Flippo’s biography. Yes, I wrote it in 2020—three years ago—but I thought this would be the place to make lots of sales. My mission: to get the word out about the life and times of Marshall Flippo! Not only square dance history, but World War II history, Texas history and the life in the 50s and 60s.
Here’s some history of this book & CALLERLAB!
I released Just Another Square Dance Caller: Authorized Biography of Marshall Flippo mid-May 2020 and with the pre-order sales and the sales on Amazon.com and IngramSparks.com, I enjoyed an acceptable amount of sales.
The coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020, canceling all dance festivals and events for a couple years, so after my original release, the book sales have plummeted. Somehow, I thought I could maintain minimal sales even though we weren’t dancing.
I had originally planned to release the book at the 2020 CALLERLAB convention in Reno, Nevada, but they canceled it. Then I thought I’d have a major release party at REVCO Festival in Indio, California, a festival Flip called at for years. They canceled it. ALL DANCE EVENTS—CANCELED. Then CALLERLAB 2021 in Grapevine, Texas, occurred, but as a virtual convention, so I had no book sales there. I missed CALLERLAB 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania because I still felt leery about the coronavirus pandemic.
So, 2023 would be the year, and anticipation filled me. Before the event, I followed the suggestion of my book coach, and prepared a fifty-minute audio of highlights of my conversations with Flippo to offer FREE for interested people. Listening to his voice once more when I created this, I snuggled down in my chair and relished the storyteller he was. He talked about how he started calling, about his amazing recording of “The Auctioneer” (such a piece of history) and a bonus of his sleeping with another caller and the practical jokes that followed! Interesting and funny—Flippo at his best! And to hear that raspy Texas twang once more! Looking to CALLERLAB, I saw, in my imagination, people rushing to my booth to get the free audio and buy his book.
The days before leaving for Reno, I put three labels of awards the book won on each book I took. I ordered more of my other books not about Flippo because I was sure I would sell out of the number I had—the eternal optimist.
As we neared the departure date, I had a glitch in my travel plans. My husband came down with shingles, so my brother pinch hit for him to help me drive. After a delightful trip there and a mini-family reunion with his family from northern California on Saturday, the anticipation grew! Yet a nagging doubt whispered in the back of my mind: gone and forgotten? What would the sales be like?
On Sunday morning, my brother and nephew helped me set up my booth, teeming with my six books and three cookbooks—Flippo’s book took center-state though! We opened from 1:00-5:00 PM to start the conference. Callers and callers’ wives slowly dribbled in, and I realized my fate! Maybe gone and forgotten was the truth!
On Monday and Tuesday, the lack of interest continued. I sold a few books, but eleven people said, after I asked if they had bought Flippo’s biography, “Not yet.” The sad thing—the “Net yets” never came back!
But the most disturbing part for me, more than the lack of sales—the lack of enthusiasm about Flippo. Yes, I had several people stop by my table and share. They bought the book and enjoyed it—several had stellar comments to make. That blessed my heart because this was the first opportunity I had to get that kind of face-to-face feedback in such numbers.
But the lack of enthusiasm shocked me! In Flip’s biography, thirty-four callers, cuers and dancers told stories about him, remembering great tales to tell. As I thumbed through those stories today, most of those people bought the book early. Several have posted reviews on Amazon and three wrote thoughtful blurbs I used for the covers and promotions.
Flippo Loved to Tell Stories About Other Callers & Cuers
From the beginning, Flippo wanted to tell stories about the callers and cuers he worked with. In fact, we started the book with “A Tribute To Those Who’ve Gone,” identifying ten specific callers and cuers who helped him get started.
He also told stories on fifty-three callers, cuers and dance influencers in another section. Many of them have passed, but their names ring in the mind of any square dance historian: Jerry Haag, Beryl Main, Frank Lane, Ed Gilmore, Joe Lewis, Arnie Kronenberger, Dave Taylor, Dick Jones, Hotsy & Joan Bacon, Jerry Helt, Al and Bob Brundage, Earl Johnston, Al “Tex” Brownlee, Bill & Phyllis Speidel, Ray & Harper Smith, Jerry Story, Randy Dougherty, Singing Sam Mitchell, Max Forsyth, Charlie & Bettye Procter, Ted Frye, Bob Yerington, Bobby Newman, Chuck Goodman, Johnnie Wykoff, C. O. Guest, Billy Lewis, Pancho and Marie Baird, Jim Brower, Joe & Cricket Young, and Bob Fisk. Whew! What a list of the stars of the history of square and round dancing!
One more thing! I worked hard to add an index at the end of the book. Why spend a week putting it together? I saw the historical value of it and I wanted people to look up famous names, familiar names easily.
Gone but forgotten? I had a conversation with Darryl Lipscomb. He told me that Flippo had told him when he was retiring people would forget him because of his absence at festivals and different events. Interesting prediction for sure!
Finally,
Gone, but forgotten! I took way too many books to CALLERLAB in my enthusiasm. The lack of enthusiasm for Flippo astonished me there, but I look to the future and festivals coming up to sell at: USAWest in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Cool Mountain Fling in Show Low, Arizona and Hot August Nights in Albuquerque, New Mexico, too, to name a few.
Flippo! Gone, but not forgotten for me and many! Be one of us!
Grab your iPhone and lounge on the beach with Flippo!
~Get your FREE Fifty minute audio recording of “Highlights of My Conversations with Flippo.” Learn how he started calling, how he recorded “The Auctioneer,” and a bonus: which caller did he sleep with? Click here for easy access!
What Ties My Six Books Together? As I pondered this question this week, I wondered: three books about my rural childhood in southeastern Colorado, one about my grief in losing my parents, one a biography about a square dance caller and the last one about my reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. Then I saw the tie that binds them: relationships and connection to people. So, here’s how I see the tie that ties my writing together:
My First Book
This Tumbleweed Landed, a memoir written in poetry and prose, focuses on people, places and events in my small rural community during my childhood. I fashioned it after Cynthia Rylant’s children’s book, Waiting to Waltz, who wrote poetry about people, places and events in a fictional town. In my book, I celebrated my childhood relationships with many notorious adults in town—Virgie Firestone and the Warners. Also, what I wrote about many of the places and events, places and times I connected with my family and friends—Branson dances and stories my dad and his school years, told sitting at our round table.
My Second Book
When Will Papa Get Home?, a historical fiction, focuses on a Mexican immigrant family’s perilous times during the 20s in southeastern Colorado. Maria, the daughter, tells the story of her family’s plight. She weaves the tale of those people responsible for her papa’s false accusations.
I centered this book on familial and friend relationships and connection to people. Sadly though, this book also shows the prejudice of the time and the misconnection some people had with certain races. But her deep connection with her family wins in the end.
My Third Book
Let Me Tell You a Story, a nonfiction account of how my granddad put our family ranch together during the depression when many other ranchers lost theirs, focuses on the three generations of my family and our ranch. My dad, mom and I had previously released this booklet in 1992 at my dad’s 75th birthday party. It overflows with the relationship between my dad and his dad and my granddad, and the relationship my dad and granddad had with the ranch they loved. Yes, you can have a relationship and connection with the earth! Even though it focuses on the ranch, the underlying topic is our familial relationships.
My Fourth Book
A Time to Grow Up: A Daughter’s Grief Memoir, a memoir about the loss of my parents, shows the foundation of my life and relationships: my parents. Of all my books, this book hurt to write, yet I love it the most! In talking about my loss, I feature the unique relationship I had with each parent. First, I connected with each of them, making it easier to connect with others in the world.
My Fifth Book
Just Another Square Dance Caller: Authorized Biography of Marshall Flippo, a biography of the most famous square dance caller in the world’s, first and foremost highlights relationships and connections with people. Yes, it tells Flippo’s life story from Texas to Japan as a young man and then later in life, but a major part of his life story was his connection with his family and friends. So much so, he required a section in the book telling stories about his square and round dance friends. After fulfilling that request, I connected with callers, cuers and dancers and featured their stories about Flippo. Yes, he truly understood relationships and how to connect with just about anyone.
My Sixth Book
Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better?, a spiritual self-help book written in poetry and prose, focuses on many of the perils of the coronavirus pandemic with an underlying theme the opposite of my focus: isolation. Yet this theme emphasized the extreme need I had and many others had to connect with people, to be with people, to relate with people. Thankfully, Zoom met some of those needs—a monthly get-together with two women friends I knew in Loveland, Colorado, a Christmas concert with our local caller, and many recovery meetings. But I’ll never forget the first time I went out without a mask and actually hugged someone besides my husband. Something deep inside me healed.
The lack of connection truly became the hardest part of the pandemic for me, and I see now how that appears throughout this book.
Finally,
This topic came up because I’m a multi-genre author which makes it difficult to market my books, my brand. Current training I’m attending wrestled with this dilemma. But I have no qualms about this! I love poetry and prose. Also I relish historical fiction. Writing Flippo’s biography was a privilege and an honor. I love the variety!
Relationships and connections with people feed my life and my writing. I did not know when I wrote each book that those themes laced their way through each work, hiding in a poem, a story, or my prose. Actually, taking the time to identify the tie between my six books opened my eyes! I’m so glad I wrote this blog to see the common tie that binds my work together. I have a feeling this meandering around and through my six books will help me in my future writing!
If you’ve read my books, did you see this theme? If not, did you see others? Let me know.
All available at my website: laradasbooks.com or Amazon.com
~For me, it’s Christmas all year long!Here’s a variety of Christmas greetings from Flippo & Neeca, featuring his song, “When It’s Christmas Time in Texas”: https://youtu.be/mpJCUGffU3A
Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy a chapter!
~My new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? WON the 2022 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in the Body, Mind & Spirit Category. Have you bought your copy yet?Vist my website: laradasbooks.com or at Amazon.
Baby, it’s cold outside! Read about Flippo inside where it’s warm!
~Have you bought a copy of Flippo’s biography yet? Believe it or not—it’s been three years. Go here for your hardback or paperback: https://www.laradasbooks.com or at Amazon.
