Authors Electric

  Here's hoping you open this at the read of light. A miracle happened this Christmas that I want to share with you. Indulge me, whether you believe in miracles or even Christmas. Allowing for any differences on either score, I plan to write this quickly, sticking only to the facts. I found myself in dire straits when a second source of income ran out a month early--with my move to a lovely new place scheduled for January 8. I'd have to pay movers, cleaners and junk removers. And after a four-month job search I'd not had a single interview.  Working against me: my age, my lame right knee, a two-year writing and knee-recovery sabbatical, and a long stint in retail as a cashier when what I really wanted was a security guard job.  Working for me: my receipt of a state security guard card, a half-dozen certificates for continued studies, my refusal to accept the prospect of eviction from my new studio apartment, and my fierce hatred of ageism. Decision: my resume was killing...

This has been a crazy week--words I say while knowing that many of you have had weeks as crazy...or worse. In the home stretch of my WIP these were the time crunches life threw me this week: --4-day siege on the phone and in person trying to renew my ADA van transport.  --5-hour trip to my hematologist for labs, a phlebotomy, and a consultation.  --Three trips to the YMCA to keep building my surgical leg strength and flexibility. --2 days sorting through old resumes dating back years, and arranging the relevant experience for positions as a cashier, a bookstore clerk, and a customer service rep. --1 day deciding which online resume builder to try and which template to use, then completing a cashiering resume.  --3 hours attempting to forward that resume to the UPS store that does all my printing and engaging in online chats. --Trip this morning to pick up the results. I don't complain. I bless my lucky stars that I'd completed a beta copy of my WIP's first 200 pages and a...