Thursday, December 21, 2017

Really Back?

Hope so, anyway. I still can't type, and most dictation software is still iffy, Lib can't take  dictation because she is pretty deaf especially in the useful ranges... the usual..

 Colleen Grayson has attempted to take up some of my working slack (she is the widow of my old friend Steve who owned the bar  in its glory days). She typed at least three of my old books, but from pen written (!) mss, and is not used to dictation.Nor is she on board for the blog, and she travels a lot.But she will be help with books, especially Book of Books 2, as we now call "With Trees".

Books: the novel languishes at at least one and possibly two publishers, courtesy of Sy Montgomery and Malcolm Brooks. I still have hope, as that is the way of novels.

Jay Cassell, the only person worth a shit at Skyhorse, who rammed through the correct edition with Tim Murphy's name actually in it, and Liz Thomas's intro actually in place, says he mght be able to get me a little more for the Passenger Pigeon book, which becomes ever more timely as more people close in on what I believe is the solution (where was the southern glacial maximum? Where or what was the pigeon then? WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?) But I really need money to travel (comfortably- I am pretty crippled) to Madison and Berkeley soon...

My friend David's wife Karen, who is also a publisher, has offered to help, and I have decided to take her up on it. First will be the B o' B's I think, which I can do slowly, at about an essay a week. I am extremely slow; I nearly panicked doing an art bio for New Mexico mag last week, and am still not sure it was done competently. BOTH my computers are riddled with bugs, ghosts, and malware; I had to write it on one, have Libby assemble it on the other, and STILL have only the vaguest idea of the word count. Not has the subject of the profile had a chance to fact check it. And this all took three DAYS rather than the three hours a final draft should take. This too shall pass...

As does everything. My oldest friend in NM is now dying of inoperable cancer, as are two more good ones  in other states.  Of which more later. But I recently read an excellent exegesis of Maggie Smith's poem "Good Bones", which opens with:                      

 Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
                        Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine
                        in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
                        a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
                        I’ll keep from my children...

To which my unexpected first reaction was, no; we keep it from them because THEY WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT.

Expect more (slow) blogging, photos, and a return to work. Life is good.

8 comments:

Randy Davis said...

Steve,

Forgotten the author but "Everybody knows they are going to die, but nobody believes it"

Randy Davis

Sierra Muse said...
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Steve Bodio said...

Insightful as always, Sierra Muse.

Another who, oddly, shares our birthday: singer- songwriter Tom Russell One reason his Gallo sits by my door.

Sierra Muse said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Steve Bodio said...

Sierra- why don't you send a snail mail of your address to me at POB 709 Magdalena 87825 or email it to "ebodio- at- gilanet- dot- com"?
I have some things to send you, including Tom's account of his first Magdalena visit...

My books have always revolved around nature, if not falconry, though if I live long enough there is a sort of memoir in the works that would be more what you are looking for. And I can send an experiment in THAT...

Have you seen my Amazon Page: ?

Steve Bodio said...

Which didnt come out in the comments. Just Google Stephen Bodo's Amazon page!

Sierra Muse said...

Yes, I did visit your Amazon page - some time ago to see what else you’ve written. In fact, that must have been when and where I purchased Querencia a couple years ago after reading a NM Magazine recommendation of excellent books to read by New Mexico writers. I bought all the books recommended and particularly enjoyed yours. I intend to purchase a couple of your other books also. My contact addresses are on their way to your gilanet.com - if you don’t get the email, check your spam if your gilanet tends to divert (hopefully not block) email addresses it doesn’t recognize -the killer filter feature. One address will be a Yahoo and the other a Gmail. And “thank you” for your contact info - very much appreciated! It will be a pleasure to have additional means for corresponding without cluttering your blog site with extraneous detail of no interest to those dedicated hunters and gun collectors - your buddy bloggers. I see you have much more posted on your blog, however, and I haven’t read those yet. Next to do. Regards, Sierra

Sierra Muse said...

Sent an email - not certain you received it since there was an address typo I corrected and sent again.

Here’s an email address for me: adeltadreamer@yahoo.com.

Thank you for contact info - very much appreciated! PS - I deleted a couple too-long comments on your blog page - no sense to clog your blog with clutter not related to your sundry passions