May 3, 2020

ISOLATED PAGES #24

If I ever doubted whether anyone reads ISOLATED PAGES, this last issue seared the answer in my brain. The number of you who commented on my new companion affirms that ISOLATED PAGES is needed and makes a difference. The # 1 request was to see a picture of Miss Waffles. So I'll take care of that below. Growing up and up until my current advanced age, I have always been a dog person — German shepherds, Collies, English Sheep dogs, Labradors, Brittany Spaniels, and most recently Shar Peis. I did have cats when I was between 3 and 8 years old when we lived on a farm during WWII. They helped remove the population of unwanted critters. And now several decades later I have introduced a cat into my life. At my age it is nice to have a somewhat independent being, as I am not too good at taking long walks. Waffles fits my life style to a "t" today. As a very dear friend said just yesterday: "I assume you have figured out that you have been busted back from homeowner to 'staff.' (Dogs have masters; cats have staff.)"

As you can see, this little baby is very much in charge. During these crazy times, that may not be such a bad thing. We'll see who runs this joint when she doesn't have me 24/7.

BOOK NEWS from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Booksellers Face Difficult Decisions When Reopening Stores

MOVING FORWARD

Can you believe we've been doing this for nearly 2 months? Insane right? And the funny thing is I'm starting to get into this new lifestyle and new routine. It's becoming my "new" norm. I remember weeks ago, how hard it felt to go through change. To shift ones world in a new way without knowing if what one was doing was right or wrong. So if we learn anything from this experience, it's that ALL change is challenging at first. We will feel every bit of it, until one doesn't.

Now is a good time to ask everyone what is one thing they've learned about themselves during this quarantine and what is one thing they are grateful for that they would have never experienced had this quarantine not happened.
Be careful as some of us will realize we've actually gained from this experience rather than lost. Lesson learned was that CHANGE is always good if you let it be.

If there is any part of you right now that is questionable or anxious or even angry about needing to make shifts in order to get your life on track.... Then I recommend you really take a look at your last 2 months and see what a little change and shift has done for your life.

SUPPORTIVE COMMENTS

We have been getting a lot of feedback and many comments on our ISOLATED PAGES including from Rose Kern, Ann Zeigler, Jill Lane, Robert Kidera, Ramona Gault, Lynda Sanchez, Vicky Ramakka, Therese Francis, Patricia Walkow, Maida Tilchen, Sherri Burr, Mary Neighbour, Jan and Nasario Gracia, Susan Miller

Lynda Sanchez said: "do you have a photo of Waffles doing his editing as you write? Or just in general. Loved that story. Sometimes the Lord sends us messages and messengers. I think you have both!"

Ramona Gault said: "Delighted to get a new edition of Isolated Pages today. I can see how much diligence it takes to pull together all the items and write them up in a helpful, neighborly way--it's much appreciated and reminds us of what community means. Just have to comment on your new cat. I'm always happy to hear of a homeless cat finding a good home. But the name surprised me. Several years ago, my daughter and I lived in a trailer on a ranch south of Eldorado. There were several barn cats on the property. The owner had named them all pretty goofy names. One was Bottle Rocket, or B.R. for short. The mom cat was Waffles. She adopted us and moved into our trailer for the winter. My daughter modified the kitty's name to Waffles Ann. I never expected to hear of another cat named Waffles though! Be sure to include a photo of Waffles next time you post! She already has a fan!"

Therese Francis said: "Thanks for your update. I love the laughs. Are you sure Waffles is not an incarnation of Barbe (hence the "help" with the keyboard)?

Patricia Walkow said: "Keep these coming – I enjoy reading them."

Mary Neighbour said: "Thanks for sticking with this uplifting, informative newsletter . . . and I’m sure with time your new office worker will improve exponentially under your mentorship. All the best to you and Waffles"

Robert Kidera said: "Thank you for being a beacon, a bastion and a bellwether these past challenging months. Your frequent issues of Isolated Pages have, I am sure, helped many NM authors and readers persevere. I know they have been an encouragement for me."

Vicky Ramakka said: "Just read today’s Isolated Pages. I enjoy hearing others’ take on this upheaval. So glad you have a companion cat, and good of you to rescue her. I don’t think any writer should be without a feline helper—you never know what those touches on the keyboard may produce."

Ann Zeigler said: "Thanks so much for keeping your sheltering flock in touch by Isolated Pages. It is certainly much appreciated here. As for TP hoarding, I guess it's time to 'fess up. We don't hoard TP here. We hoard books. They're a giant comforting wall between us and reality."

Jill Lane said: "I am SO EXCITED you have a new awesome and purrfect assistant. Waffles is very lucky. And I know she’ll be a great source of love for you. I can’t wait to meet her."

Jan and Nasario Garcia said: "I hope you and your adopted/rescued friend are doing okay :-). Jan and I read with interest your abundance of information. What jumped at us, and of no surprise, is the difficult times publishers and small bookstores are having due to the pandemic. We are always ready to help in any way we can. For our part, we are willing to purchase whatever books of mine that you currently have on hand. Please let us know what books you have in stock."

Sherri Burr said: "Thanks Paul for sharing your updates. What you said about book sales was astonishingly hard to read, but necessary to know!"

Susan Miller said: "I'm not sure how or why I missed the news of Barb's passing last year--I blame it on the turbulence surrounding my husband's retirement (paperwork and innumerable phone calls) and the pandemic. But I'm so sorry for your loss. She and I shared conversations and laughter at booksignings in NM, your 2008 Book Awards dinner, etc. Please know my thoughts are with you--and thanks for sending out the "Isolated Pages" episodes."

Rose Kern said: "Glad you got a new friend. Be careful of her on the keyboard. My husband was visiting a cousin in Wash DC whose cat decided to stroll on the keyboard and somehow managed to hit just the right keys to change a lot of his basic settings. He was VERY frustrated. Your analysis of the categories was interesting. As you know SouthWest Writers is currently hosting a short story and poetry contest. We had so many complaints from poets last year that we did not have enough categories for them that we opened up 11 categories – but only 6 of them have more than 1 entry! You never can tell…

KUDOS

PRESS WOMEN AWARDS

More info is in from National Federation of Press Women about honorees in the 2020 Annual Communications Contest. For Southwest Writers: The Sage – monthly newsletter edited by Kathy Schuit and KiMo Theatre: Fact & Folklore. A SWW project in association with the City of Albuquerque, it was primarily edited and written by Jacqueline Murray Loring, the book contains chapters written by many SWW members. It was formatted and published through Amazon by Rose M Kern.

RESOURCES

Maida Tilchen sent the following as a possible resource for all of us: "take a look at betterworldbooks.com. They are especially good with used books which are often less expensive than Amazon, and most have free shipping. They give significant profits to literacy and similar campaigns. They run a lot of discounted sales and also give reward points. I’ve bought a lot of books from them and they are great in every way. It’s so satisfying to not buy from Amazon.

SOME LAUGHS

[Courtesy of Ann Zeigler] Some humor from author Louise Penny's latest newsletter (which also included lots of other interesting snippets):

Paraprosdokians are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected and is frequently humorous. (Winston Churchill loved them).

KEEP SAFE & HEALTHY—Wash Your Hand and Don't Hoard TP
Paul Rhetts

NM Book Co-op's main mission is to foster community and support for authors and publishers and books.