Waiting period

One thing people don't tell you about the press and promotion of a book, not to mention the money is how long you have to wait for everything. So I sit in a period of waiting and I am not the most patient of people. This might shock my co-workers in my customer service job because I am very patient with our customers. In reality I am a normal American I want instant gratification.

But no, I am waiting. Waiting for the first quarterly report on sales. Waiting for a review. Waiting for the reimbursement for my first book signing. Waiting to hear about my next book signing. A lot of waiting and not much patience.

So what are you doing during this period of waiting you may ask?
Thanks for asking.( I have to be silly or I might cry.)

I am writing of course. I am working on my next novel and some short stories. I also have some other ideas I am feeling out. So I keep my creative side nice and busy, thanks.

I am reading of course one of my favorite pastimes. I just finished, Agatha Christie's Murder in Mesopotamia. I am reading The Jane Austen Book Club. And last but not least Eat, Pray, Love.
I have always loved Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers I have a weakness for English Murder Mysteries written in the 20's through the 50's. They are puzzles and I love a mind puzzle.

I love Jane Austen, I have read her whole lexicon and loved it. I saw the movie The Jane Austen Book Club and loved it. So when I found the book a bit worse for wear at a book sale I had to get it. So far so good its different but very interesting and I am enjoying it. I am about halfway through it.

I hadn't heard of Eat, Pray, Love till it became a movie. I don't really look to see who is on the best seller list I buy books by my instincts so I didn't know about it at all. I started to read about it on the Internet and it sounded fascinating to me. I have been on a spiritual search since I was in college. So looking for the spirit with in is quite a draw for me. So I bought the book and saw the movie.

There were several things in college that drew me to the spirit. I went to a spiritual center near school as a lark with a friend and found it fascinating. I was taking comparative religions in school because I was studying Anthropology so I really wanted to find about all spiritual practices. I come from a form of Judaism that is really open to exploring all forms of spirit so I had no fear only open eyed interest. The reading was spot on and the books in the shop were fascinating I think I bought about four of them.

The second thing that happened at that time that I thought was just cool but now I realize was truly an honor as well as a really big deal. One of my classes was Peoples Of India. I was in an advanced class in my second year because I adored the professor. He was a wonderful teacher full of enthusiasm and he love to help students in any way possible. In fact he sponsored our Anthropology club. He was a cute little man with gray hair, very attractive with a wonderful voice. He was funny and open . He loved to teach and love to have exchanges with his students. He had been traveling in India for years and knew everyone.

One day we were told one of our guest lecturers was going to be the Dali lama. Yes, himself. We were all thrilled he had brought several very famous experts to our class but we were never given instructions on how to act with them before. I think we were all nervous. He came in with his brother who acted as his translator. He was wonderful, funny, open and loved to hear our questions and was very much into open discussion. We stayed pass our time we were all impressed with how down to earth he was since he was a spiritual leader of a whole religion. When he left we couldn't stop chattering about him. One thing was that he spoke wonderful English and really didn't need a translator but that we were glad his brother came because he was as sweet and funny as his famous brother.

That was it, no great spiritual encounter it was an educational encounter about his people in Tibet and how his religion developed. So though I was very, very impressed with him I never connected it to my own spiritual quest till much later. About ten years later I was taking an extension course in UCLA and he came to promote saving Tibet. I didn't go because I couldn't afford it, I was a starving student, but I had already met him with only 15 other people, spoke one on one with him got to shake his hand so I knew that I was ahead of the game. This was to be a massive audience with thousands of people and the only view of his holiness would be from the back of the theater. One of the girls from my class went and came back to class with a black eye. Her story was that she was overwhelmed with his presence and swooned and hit her eye on the corner of chair. I realized then I was fortunate, I met him under the best of circumstances and it was a memory I will always cherish.

The other part of the book and the movie I loved was Italy. I have always loved movies with Italy I am very drawn to them. Summertime with Katherine Hepburn, Enchanted April, with an all star British cast and several others. I am also drawn to travel, I have been a traveler and seeker all my life. So I really enjoyed that part of the movie. I always wanted to go to Italy...maybe someday.

Well that's it for today.
(I think that is enough don't you? quite the ramble)