WIN OR LOSE

           
            In the summer of 2006, I was in Colorado to see if I could find any bookstores that would be interested in a signing for “The Fatal Heir.” (This is hard to do without a book in hand). My family and I stayed with some friends and that weekend we went to a movie called “Little Miss Sunshine.” The movie had just come out and I’d heard it was good but I didn’t know that it was about a Dad with a potential book deal and an “if-you’re-going-to-do-something,-you-have-to-win” philosophy, and a little girl who dreamed of being a beauty queen. At some point in the movie, the drug-addicted grandfather moves to the front of the van, puts his hand on the shoulder of his win-win-win son and says something like, “You’re not a loser. You’d be a loser if you hadn’t tried.” And that’s the point where I started to cry.
            After the movie, I told my friend that the movie had just hit way, way too close to home for me. (At the time, my youngest son was fifteen and he bears an uncanny resemblance to the actor who played the fifteen-year-old in the film. My son also lists Nietzsche as a favorite author – although he is verbal – and need I remind you we were on a multi-state mission to promote a book?)
            Sitting on a park bench outside the theatre my friend told me that she would always get up on the stage and dance with me, no matter how it turned out.
            So now forward to 2008. Was the book a success? It wasn’t a financial success. But most of the people who read the book, liked it (a few even raved about it) and a number of people got up on the stage and danced with me (metaphorically speaking, of course.) And no one was cited for anything criminal. Life really doesn’t get much better than that.
            Now as to the second book, if I don’t find a publisher I will post it to the internet. Or maybe download it to your Kindle if that’s where we find ourselves in a year or two. Either way, I will get it out there.
            In the meantime, I’m still struggling with that win/lose definition and what I need to accomplish to fall into the win category. Finding a publisher would put me in that winner's circle, but my heart tells me it’s finishing the books that are still in me. (Besides the Gillian Jones series, I also have two other books in progress.) So wish me luck. And Godspeed.
            In the meantime, check out the short story. It's my husband’s favorite of my short fiction.
            And finally dear readers, be well, read well, and honor the day.

A POSTSCRIPT

            After writing the previous entry, I was notified that “The Fatal Heir” had placed as a notable in The Eric Hoffer Book Award. More information on the awards can be found at www.HofferAward.com.
            In light of that honor, I am substituting “The River Man” as the short fiction selection. That story was the finalist in the 2005 Pebble Lake Review.