Presidential Dogs Not Allowed

One day I almost caused an incident that might have been considered funny. One Saturday morning, I was assigned to greet people at the entrance [of the George H. W. Bush Library] rather than introduce the film that begins the tour, guide tourists through the exhibits or sit at the information desk.

Near the entrance, I noticed a tall man approaching who was dressed in khaki clothes with a backpack, wearing a baseball cap, and leading a dog on a leash. He looked like one of the professors, and I moved forward to explain the Library regulations that the dog could not enter.

He leaned down to pet the dog and only then did I realize he was petting Millie! I just backed up, smiled and said “Good morning, Mr. President.” Of course, Millie entered with him.

That was a close call. I hadn’t noticed the ever-present secret service fellows with the ear pieces that signal the presence of the President. They usually dress in clothes to match what he’s wearing, trying to blend in with the crowds. I chuckle when I wonder what if I’d tried to keep him from entering his own library. (From Jenny’s Daughter by Jaqi Wade) http://tinyurl.com/nk37akr

Converting Pounds to Kilograms

We’d packed spaghetti sauce packets in our luggage and that was to be it; spaghetti and meatballs with some salad and fresh bread. Home-cooked, even if it was a packaged sauce mix. All of us were anticipating the first home cooked meal in Brazil.

Margie and I walked to shop for food at the little stores in the neighborhood. First to the little veggie shop for salad stuff, then next door to the bakery for French bread and then next door to the meat market.

We could just point to what we wanted at the first two stores, but had to say what we wanted at the meat market. They understood that we wanted ground beef. We forgot the difference between kilos and pounds and watched wordlessly as they ground 2 kilos (4.5 lbs.) of beef. We had decided that kilos were half a pound instead of 2.2 pounds. We forgot how to say stop! We couldn’t explain and were too embarrassed to do more than watch and pay. We didn’t break into hysterical laughter until we got back into the house.

The new refrigerator hadn’t been delivered, so we had to cook all four pounds, eight ounces for that one meal. The kids loved that for once they had enough meatballs to go with their spaghetti! (From Jenny’s Daughter by Jaqi Wade) http://tinyurl.com/nk37akr

Uma Problema

We lined up with passports in hand, ready to be checked for disembarkation, but it seemed there would be “a little problem.” Oh no, not again, just now; but what a fitting end to this month-long voyage!

We’d learned to listen for the phrase uma problema (a little problem). This was the signal there was a problem, but didn’t describe the seriousness of that problem.

This time the problem was easily solved and only involved the Henderson family. Some in our group began to joke they didn’t know us for fear they would have a little problem, too.

The problem was that we had to have Yellow Fever shots before we’d be allowed off the ship. Carl had gotten those shots in Los Angeles because he knew he’d be traveling all over the country. He was told his family didn’t need to have them because we’d stay in the city. We explained it to the immigration officials, but they didn’t like that explanation, so we got in another line and got our free shots.  (From Jenny’s Daughter by Jaqi Wade) Read more about this book here.

An Interesting Email

I recently received an email from Jaqi Wade, author of Jenny's Daughter. It was both heartwarming and tickled my fancy at the same time, and I have asked (and received) her permission to share it with you.

I've Read It

 

Finally - for the first time since I sent the manuscript to you! During the editing I only read the edited parts. Because so many friends and family have told me how much they've enjoyed my story, I had to find out what they were talking about.

Last Sunday before his sermon the minister put the front cover picture on the screen and walked to where I was sitting, asked me to stand, and praised the book. Several had already read it as have several at the Mesa Sr Center on Macdonald where I volunteer. I'm even getting FB notes from family and friends and even some guys have complimented me.

I decided to read my story. I'm so impressed with your editing and how you let the story unfold! I've sort of played with the sequel "J's D - Leftovers" and now have a better idea of what to write for the years since 2000. IF I ever finish it, I'll need your editing skills.  Gratefully, Jenny's Daughter, Jaqi

This is why I became more than an author. This is why I expanded and became a publisher as well. So that I could help others to achieve their dream. So readers could have wonderful stories that were beyond my scope as a story-teller. To put good works in the world by serving authors and readers at the same time.
Get Jaqi's incredible story here.

Jenny's Daughter

On April 23, Jenny's Daughter, by Jaqi Wade was published.

I feel privileged to have been one of the editors during its publication. As an editor, not only was I looking for spelling and grammar problems, but I had quite a bit to do with shaping the manuscript. Some bits were moved around to put them in a little better order, to make the book easier to read. Some bits of the original manuscript were cut, because the memories meandered into essays on social or political subjects, and the book was meant to be a memoir. Mostly, the editing was simply polishing the uncut gem that had been presented, and making it sparkle in its present form.

Jaqi Wade grew up in California, the daughter of a farm laborer and a nurse. She lived through the Great Depression, and was fortunate enough that although they moved often as her father sought work, they were never starving or homeless. She lived through the fear that stalked all Californians during WWII; that there would be mainland strikes similar to Pearl Harbor.

Later in her life, she and her husband joined a missionary group headed for Brazil. They packed up their three children and very few of their possessions and moved to South America. She coped with her new language and culture. As her husband was the mission's pilot, she often had to function as though she were a single parent, raising her children, working, and adjusting to her new home on her own.

Meanwhile, the United States was consumed with the social turmoil of the late sixties and early seventies. She read about the events as they were presented by international news sources, but never really experienced the changes with the rest of the citizens. By the time she returned home, the language, culture, and technology were utterly foreign to her, and she found that the reverse culture shock of her return was harder to deal with than her initial move to Brazil, not least because she was completely unprepared for it.

Come read the remarkable story of a woman who's lived life on two continents. Meet Jaqi Wade, Jenny's daughter.

Exciting! And a little Crazy!

Publishing is a strange world to live in. It's a world of hurry up and wait.
You send the manuscript back and forth between the editors and the author. When it's your turn with it, you work like mad, then wait several months until it's your turn again. There are sometimes delays because, well, life happens. And sometimes there are serendipitous moments when you realize you can bring a project in ahead of schedule.

Take April for example. We're publishing three books at or near the end of April.

Inherit My Heart, by A M Jenner, is a romantic suspense about a woman who's running from an abusive relationship, and what happens when a lawyer inadvertently leads her husband to her.

Inherit My Heart was originally intended to be (re)published in February, but some family funerals and unexpected travel delayed its release.

Jenny's Daughter, by Jaqi Wade, is a nonfiction memoir of a fascinating life. Jaqi grew up in depression-era California. At the age of 40 she and her husband packed up their children and went to live as missionaries in Brazil. The culture shock of moving there was nothing compared to the shock of moving back "home" again twenty years later.

Jenny's Daughter is being published right on time.

Fabric of the World, by Scott Ashby, is a fantasy novel about a young man who accidentally kills the Archmage on his seventeenth naming-day, the day he becomes a legal adult. By the end of the day he's been forced to abandon his plans for his life and flee the city...and he's been kidnapped by a band of nomads, to boot. As he tries to find a place in the world, he has two choices: stay with the nomads, marry the chieftain's daughter, and become fabulously wealthy as his adopted heir; or return to Turpan and fight the rest of the corrupt mages who rule the city to bring freedom and justice to all the city's inhabitants.

Fabric of the World was scheduled to be (re)released in June, but the work went faster than expected in every phase of development, and it's ready now.

All three books have been sent to the printer, and we're waiting for the proof copies to arrive. In the meanwhile, we're putting information about them on the website as it becomes available, and working hard to prepare the ebook versions.