So now this will be a blog, too. Google swept in and made my blogs impossible to find and post.
So this will be a blog for both my writing news/angst/etc, and about Lupus issues.
First, as a writer, I recently posted on Twitter, as Bratgal. I have been inundated by "followers"......Now what do I do? I try to thank them all; use a copy and paste message, of all things, but it saves time. I don't think it's "polite" to ignore them, even though they may not be my new best friend.
Does anyone know of a "primer" for Twitter? One that explains when to use @ and when to use # and all the other tricks of the trade.
I recently was asked by The American Military Family Museum to send an excerpt from my book, Once a Brat, Always a Brat, to be posted on their website, and a photo of my dad's retirement from the US Army, in 1958. It's a hoot, this photo. Mom and I are wearing "cat's eye" glasses, and my younger brothers, Gary, 14 and Robert, 6 look like Wally and The Beaver. Only my father looks great, in his uniform.
Next, for my latest news on the health front -- Last week, I had home health people parading in and out of my house. First, my neurologist suggested it, as he -- darn it -- had to increase the dosage of my Primidone, which is used against my "benign essential tremors" -- to one in the morning and two at bedtime. We'll see how I do when I go back next month.
Anyway, this same neurologist recommended I see an ENT specialist, and I went to the best in town, according to my friends. I filled out a questionnaire while I was waiting my turn for the "treatment" room, and was absolutely astounded when the last question was simply: Lupus? I not only answered in the "yes" column, but I also circled the name "Lupus." Like, heck, yeah...how did you know?
Then it was my turn in the treatment room. I laid down on the exam table, and tech put a sort of mask on my face, exposing only the left eye. I was told to look at the window, then turn and look to the right. More of the same, until she was satisfied I had done all the preliminary work.
Oh, I forgot to add: I had a hearing test administered and was pleased with the results: I hear better than most people my age: will be 76 in April.
The treatment began with the tech running what felt like a tractor, vibrating all over my head. It has a name for the treatment, that I can't remember right now. At the end, I was asked to sit up and I thought I was going to fall, I was so dizzy. Not only was the room spinning, I was spinning, too. The tech grabbed me under the arms and held me until that dizziness passed.
Then I went in to see the doctor. He asked a few pertinent questions, then told me I had "positional vertigo." Especially when I looked to the left, or moved to the left. (That explains why I had fallen to the left when I got out of bed to go to the bathroom one night, and thought I had broken my thumb. Fortunately I was still in my carpeted bedroom, and not in the tile-floored bathroom.)
Then he told me we all have crystals in our ears, that normally are attached to the small hair follicles in our ears. Apparently, my crystals had fallen off the hairs and all ended up in a ball where they shouldn't be. The treatment apparently moves those pesky little crystals into another ear canal, where they would eventually re-attach. For 48 hours, however, I had to sleep on my right side, and at a 45 degree angle. Heh. I sleep on my left side. And flat. But I did it. Propped up on my bed, turned to the right. I tried sleeping in my recliner, but couldn't do that for some reason. Just didn't feel right.
So now, I'm feeling fine. No more walker, no more cane, I intend to vacuum my bedroom and the area rug in the bathroom, and do a little dusting. I talked to my daughter in CA yesterday, and she said I sounded "strong" for a change. Well, that's how I feel. Stronger. More confident.
Wait till I tell the home health pros. Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you that I'm doing some things right, already. I have a shower stool in my shower. All I need are a couple of hand grips. NO TUB BATHS. Whine. Whine. But I don't want to get stuck in there for a couple of days, like one therapist told me.
There are two therapists: One is Occupational Therapy, to see about how I manage things around the house (she recommended a plastic cup with a handle and a lid, and I found one in the pantry. Already complying with that. The Occupational Therapist will only focus on my upper body strength. Then the Physical Therapist will concentrate only on my lower body strength.
Good Lord! It sounds like The Government. Make it as complex as you can, so everybody gets a piece of the pie. Thank God my insurance is paying for all of this.
Here ends the narrative about my lupus adventure.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Saturday, February 1, 2014
My Website
I HAVE NOW GONE ROGUE.....OR INDEPENDENT, SELF PUBLISHED, AUTHOR
I had a publisher until this last summer, when 12 of her authors discovered she had embezzled from all of us. What to do?
Take down all our books with her imprint, and replace them by using the Create Space feature from Amazon:
.ALL MY BOOKS ARE NOW ON AMAZON.COM AND
KINDLE
KINDLE
FICTION:
Storm Warning ) -
$4.99
( Formerly
titled Forces of Nature)
Suspense/Thriller
What would happen when a
bomber from the nearby Air Force base is flung by a fierce tornado into the
county’s largest shopping mall? Begin
the day with the mall manager, his assistant, the security officer and Howard
the Weatherman, whose predictions are always uncannily accurate, and in this
case, deadly.
Kindle
Link: -
ebook/dp/B00GFV20T2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-t=UTF8&qid=1390243286&sr=1-1&keywords=marilyn+celeste+morris
The Unexplored Heart $12.99
Historical Novel/Adventure/Romance
Impoverished but proud Vanessa Danforth is forced from he
mother’s home by her new stepfather’s treachery in 1860s England.
After graduating from stenographer’s school, she accepts a
position at the estate of famed world explorer, Harrison Courtland.
Made a widower by his wife’s tragic death in the Himalayas,
Courtland has retreated into his work, while Vanni forges friendships with his
daughter Katrin and the handsome physician from the neighboring estate.
As Vanni encourages Courtland to unearth the ancient ruins
at the edge of his property she discovers not only a stunning secret and a
hidden treasure, but also her own heart’s desire.
Amazon Link:
Kindle Link: $4.99
Sabbath’s Gift $8.99
Paranormal/occult
Book One of the Sabbath Trilogy
Kindle Link: http://www.amazon.com/Sabbaths-Sabbath-Trilogy-Marilyn-Morris-ebook/dp/B00GL9XSIK/ref=sr_1_6_title_1
Sabbath’s House $8.99
Paranormal/Occult
Book Two of the Sabbath Trilogy
Best selling author Joanna Elliott and her growing family
are looking for another house because, quite frankly, finding bodies in the
cellar and a psychotic old woman kidnapping her son were not events conducive
to bringing her new child into the world.
She discovers a charming old Victorian mansion owned only by
women of the Emily Harris family, but the remaining heiress has no descendants
to inherit.
Once the family moves in, however, psychic black cat Sabbath
encounters spirits determined to continue the legend, once again putting the
family in peril,
Amazon Link:
Kindle Link:
Coming Soon: Book Three:
Sabbath’s Village
Where the magical, mystical black cat once again saves Joanna and her family from peril in their small town seized by witchcraft.
My Ashes of Dead Lovers Garage Sale and other adventures of a Single Woman of a Certain Age $6.99
Author’s Note: This book is a selection of articles written
over a ten year period for Suburban Newspapers, in Fort Worth, TX. Essentially, the title sprang from a
conversation I had with my Tall Blond Friend as we held a joint garage sale.
Looking at some of the items, Tall
Blond Friend asked how I got them. My reply was something along the lines of:
“You remember old What’s His Name. Before he rode off into the sunset with a
younger woman, he gave me this ________(fill in the blank) I think it should
bring at least a quarter.”
And so on, with three or four cast-off items from old boyfriends, we marked each piece until it occurred to me that I should call this “My Ashes of Dead Lovers Garage Sale
And so on, with three or four cast-off items from old boyfriends, we marked each piece until it occurred to me that I should call this “My Ashes of Dead Lovers Garage Sale
Amazon Link:
Kindle Link:
My Second Annual Ashes of Dead Lovers Garage Sale
And Other Adventures of a Single Woman of a Certain
Age
$5.99
Author’s Note: This book is another selection of articles
written over a ten year period for Suburban Newspapers, in Fort Worth, TX where
I was paid, essentially, to have fun.
Amazon Link:
Kindle Link:
Ladies of the Club
Historical Novel, WWII Era
(formerly titled The Women of Camp Sobingo)
Four
women of diverse backgrounds form a bond while en route to join their Army officer
husbands in Korea in 1946.
Their
experiences in a far-flung military compound strengthen three of the women, but
a fourth chooses to end her life, and during a reunion twenty-five years later,
long-held dark secrets and sorrows are revealed.
Formats
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NON-FICTION:
The Cards We’re Dealt: And the Joker is Lupus $8.99
When she was suddenly assaulted by myriad baffling symptoms
of joint pain and extreme fatigue, the author embarked on an intensive search
for diagnosis and treatment of what would be diagnosed as systemic lupus
Erythematosus, a little-known autoimmune disease that promised to destroy her
body, her mind and her spirit. From the
pages of her intimate daily journal, we travel with her through chronic joint
pain, frustration, anger and grief for her former self to her current state of
playing the cards she was dealt.
She has found support and friendships with an online Yahoo
group known fondly as Lupies, and shares some of their often outrageous,
somewhat irreverent and always heart-felt stories and comments.
Amazon Link:
Kindle Link:
Once a Brat, Always a Brat $.12,50
As one of the first dependents to be sent overseas at the
end of WWII, eight-year old Marilyn Celeste Morris received her very own orders
from The War Department.
From Seoul, Korea to Linz, Austria, she traversed the globe
from 1938 to 1958 with her Army Officer father, mother and younger
brothers. Between assignments in the
primitive
world of the Far East, to the sublime luxury of exploring
castles in Bavaria, the family shuttled between the various Stateside
Forts: Bragg, Bliss, Hood and Sill.
Sometimes hilarious, sometimes gut-wrenchingly sad, her
narrative is part travelogue, part therapy session. She still cries at “Taps” and stands tall when the colors pass;
yet she realizes she carries an odd mixture of pride and resentment over her
nomadic way of life.
Her conclusion, however, is that she wouldn’t have had it
any other way. Once a Brat, Always a
Brat.
Cover is photo of my father's retirement ceremony at Fort Sill OK,1958. L-R- Myself, my father, RM Morris, US Army Artillery, my mother, Frances Garrett Morris, and Wally and The Beaver -- my brothers Gary and Robert.
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Once-Always-Marilyn-Celeste-Morris/dp/1493770969/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main
Kindle Link: http://www.amazon.com/Once-Brat-Always-Marilyn-Morris-ebook/dp/B00HX2VXPY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0
Editing Services:
For the satisfaction and peace of mind of
the client and editor, a written Agreement/Contract will be offered detailing
Editing Excellence
In the April, 2004 Writers Digest, Novel Writing
Edition, Marilyn Celeste Morris was listed as one of 40 recommended editors.
All Editorial Styles must meet the needs of different jobs
for various clients. To help determine
the type of editorial serves you want or need, I offer the following
definitions:
Copyediting/Copy Proofing; “Hard” Editing, or Requests
to Improve or Re-Work Manuscript; Developmental Editing/Consulting/Ghostwriting.
Manuscripts may be submitted either electronically or on
hard copy, as you prefer.
For Electronic Editing: Send me your manuscript via email attachment, in MS Word format,
prefer MS Word 7, single-spaced and page-numbered, with your name and title of
your manuscript at the top of each page.
Other formatting consists of paragraph indents, chapter headings, etc.,
in Times New Roman or Courier 12 point font.
Please, no “fancy” script or colors.
You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt within 24
hours.
I will use the “red-line” method of editing, with
comments/insertions noted in parenthesis in blue. A separate summary of edits will also be sent to explain the
reasons for such edits, and suggestions on how the work may be improved.
For Hard Copy Editing: Send your manuscript via postal mail of your choice (USPS, FedEx,
United Parcel Service, etc) but please do not send via Certified Mail, Return
Receipt Requested, Registered Mail, or any other means where my signature is
requested upon receipt. If your
manuscript is returned to the Post Office, etc. for lack of my signature
(because I may have been away from my office upon delivery), retrieving it from
such delivery services actually delays beginning the editing process. Regular mail is more cost effective than
other means, and this will be my mode of choice for returning your work.
I will edit with a red pen, making comments/insertions in
the margins. A separate summary of
edits will also be sent to explain the reasons for such edits, and suggestions
on how the work may be improved.
For either means of submission, and for all levels of
editing, I will copyedit for sentence construction, grammar, syntax and the
general use of language.
For all levels of editing, I will check for the following:
· Punctuation,
capitalization, spelling, and grammar
· Subject-verb
agreement
· Errors
in word usage
· Consistency
in spelling, hyphenation, and numerals
· Repetition
of words in the same paragraph
· Consistency
and adherence to established format and style standards.
· Other
errors not stipulated.
At the same time, I will not interfere with the author’s
“voice” or style; thus, your work remains distinctly your work.
.
TYPES OF EDITING AVAILABLE:
Please note: Technical Writing will be edited only
for errors as stated below, but not for content or accuracy of the subject
matter. The author is entirely
responsible for any research, outcomes or statistics as written. All other genres are welcome.
Copyediting/Proofreading
Copyediting considers sentence construction,
grammar, syntax and the general use of language. This basic level of editing is primarily objective
and applies basic, accepted rules of grammar and stipulated style. At this level, the editor does not deal with
the content’s ability to communicate, but rather with the manner in which that
content is presented. In addition to
correcting indisputable errors, copy editing at one (1) cent per word includes
everything covered in Copy Proofing and also addresses the
following:
· Punctuation,
capitalization, spelling and grammar
· Subject-verb
agreement
· Parallel
construction
·
Errors in word usage (such as the use of imminent
for eminent or nauseous for nauseated)
·
Consistency in spelling, hyphenation and numerals
·
Proper sequencing in lists
·
Consistency and adherence to established format and
style standards
“Hard” Editing, or Requests to Improve or Re-Work Manuscript
At your request, and with a fee to be negotiated (generally
beginning at $10.00 per hour or two cents per word, depending on the complexity
of the revisions), with the fee to be negotiated before beginning the project,
I will first scan your manuscript for content, and then read carefully for
cohesiveness, clarity, continuity and comprehension of the entire work. Such changes, deletions, insertions, etc.
may involve one or more of the following:
Suggestions to combine or eliminate certain threads in the
book; to add more text in some areas and delete others; to restructure entire
blocks of text to add the reader’s comprehension of the story line; to add or
eliminate prologues, epilogues, or other devices to advance the plot; to
further develop major characters and/or eliminate minor characters and/or
sub-plots to ensure an unbroken narrative; and other major editing as necessary.
Although a “hard edit” involves more ego-crushing criticism,
it is often more beneficial to the author, since any complete reading and
re-work of the entire manuscript can be accomplished in one process, and while
more costly than a simple edit, is more cost effective in the long run than
deciding after the initial edit that you would like a major improvement in your
manuscript.
No major revisions of your work will be undertaken without a
consultation at each step, which is included in the fee. The consultation will be either via email or
telephone or both, whichever the author and editor agree upon.
Developmental Editing/Consulting/Ghostwriting
This type of editing involves close collaboration between
author and editor, during which time an incomplete manuscript, outline or idea
for a book, article or screenplay becomes a completed,
ready-to-submit-to-a-publisher document.
On very rare instances, I will consider this type of project, with fees
to be determined before commencing, based upon estimated time involved and
degree of difficulty in development.
Fees will begin at $10.00 per hour.
Both parties should be aware of the time involved and be willing to
cooperate at each stage of writing to completion.
Depending on the complexity of the project, ghostwriting or
co-authoring, while the author will retain the by-line, the editor will
appreciate mention in the Acknowledgements section of the final product.
STANDARD FEES:
Deposit Required
A minimum fee of $50.00 is required for all services, no
matter what the length of the project. The same care and attention to detail
will be observed for any project, whatever its size. When a project is greater than the minimum document, a contract
will be required.
At the minimum range, no contract will be required,
unless the client requests one.
Upon completion of the project, the $50.00 deposit will be
deducted from the total amount due. If
either party cancels the project at any time, the $50.00 fee will be retained
by the editor.
Fee Quotes and Estimates:
Quotes for editing reflect comparable rates. Quotes are by the word or by the project,
listing the project requirements and the editorial service provided.
Besides the minimum charge of $50.00 due for any type or
size of the project, my standard fee for proofreading/copyediting is $2.50
per page.
“Hard” Editing, or Requests to Improve or Re-Work Manuscript: Fee to be negotiated before editing begins; generally beginning at two cents per word, or $10.00 per hour, depending on the complexity of the revisions.
Hard-editing/ghostwriting projects will be negotiable
from a minimum of $20.00 per hour to completion of the project. Any exception to these standards will be
discussed with the author before commencing the project.
E-mail requests for “ballpark” estimates are always welcome,
but no firm quotes will be provided for unexamined projects.
“Start of Service” Defined:
Each project is handled in the order in which it is
received. For purposes of defining a
“start” of the project, an email will be sent to the author stating the editing
has begun, along with an estimated length of time to complete. This will in no way be binding, but is
merely an estimate.
Scheduling of projects is flexible but reasonable. Fast turn-arounds are standard and
“emergency service” will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
CONTRACTS/AGREEMENTS: (Provided Under Separate Document)
For the satisfaction and peace of mind of
the client and editor, a written Agreement/Contract will be offered detailing
· the service(s) to be provided
- the schedule and estimated completion date
- the rate
INVOICES:
Upon completion of each project, an invoice for services
rendered shall be emailed or sent via USPS to the author, detailing
- type of editing performed
- word count
- beginning and end date
- deposit paid subtracted from amount due
- total amount due
If payment has already been received, the amount previously
paid will be noted on the invoice, showing a “zero” balance.
FEES FOR PRESENTATIONS/ LECTURES:
(Contract Provided Under Separate Document)
Note: Expectations
of my presentation/workshop/lecture to organization should be precise and
stated in writing as to
- subject matter
- length of presentation
Any changes in subject matter, format, etc., requiring an
adjustment of spoken or written material by the speaker/presenter should be
made immediately in an email at least 24 hours before my departure for the
event; if not received, there will be an extra $150.00 charge for revising the
material.
The fee for the above begins at $150.00 for
speaking/lecture/ per event. No
billings should be sent to my address.
Travel, meals and lodging should be arranged by the organization well
within the time limits necessary to plan my schedule. Written documentation and confirmation shall be updated and
emailed up to the day of departure for the event.
Payment should be presented upon my departure from the
event.
FEES FOR WORKSHOPS:
In the event where I am the sole facilitator
of the workshop, the fee shall be as above, as well as other stipulations.
If I am a panel member, and not the sole
facilitator, my fee will be adjusted accordingly, in agreement with the sponsor
of the event. Travel arrangements,
meals, etc. will remain as stated above.
Speaking Engagements:
I can speak to your group on the following subjects:
My experiences with SLE, or Lupus. Since I am a spokesperson for the Lupus Foundation of America, I am limited to speaking only about my own personal experience. I also have written a book, The Cards We're Dealt, and the Joker is Lupus.
My Life as an Army Brat: How I followed my Army officer father all over the world in the years immediately following WWII in the Occupation of Korea and Austria. I also have written a book Once a Brat, Always a Brat, which has been widely accepted in the "Brat" community.
The Writing Experience: How the Real World of Writing a Novel (and getting it published)works in the digital age, including the perils and pleasures of becoming a novelist, including how my 93 year old mother told me my books had "too much sex and violence."
Given enough time to prepare, I can customize my speech to your group's interest.
Fees: Negotiable for local venues. (DFW area)
Where travel is involved:
$400.00 for my speaking services, plus travel fare, lodgings and expenses.
I will provide a contract stating my estimated fees and expenses and a cancellation for any reason whatsoever will incur a $100.00 cancellation fee.
Contact me at marilyncmorris.sbcglobal.net to arrange for my services.
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