MONDAY BLUES

Remember the old song by the Mamas and Papas, Monday, Monday? That was one of my favorites when I was a college student. In fact, I liked just about all of their songs!

What is the deal with Monday, anyway? Life after a weekend, whether it was spent quietly reading in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate, or a physically-challenging hike, Mondays are hard to deal with.  Part of the reason is simply because of change. We mentally and physically change gears on weekends, whether we work outside the home or not.  Then on Monday, we have to change those gears once again. By Thursday, we are well into our work week and go with the flow. Friday is exciting, and we look forward to it as the last day of our work week before the much-anticipated weekend, where we have plans to do things not normally done on workdays.

People often refer to Monday blues, and there is some scientific data to back that up. Our bodies don't do well after sleeping late on Saturdays, spending the rest of the day running around completing chores or pursuing fun activities. Our family always attends church on Sundays, so we are busy with church activities until noon.

I am enjoying my retirement from teaching, I must say. Oh, don't get me wrong--I loved teaching, but it was quite challenging physically and mentally, and not appropriate for the older version of myself. I taught high school English, which included AP (Advanced Placement) senior British Literature, Honors English 12, On-Level English 12, and Creative Writing. Some years I taught Speech instead of the Creative Writing, and some years I taught 9th or 11th grade English in lieu of Senior English.

To paraphrase an old adage, "An English teacher's work is never done." I had the usual homework assignments to check, as well as essays, compositions, book reports, and research papers, a hefty load, and I spent a good portion of most weekends either grading papers or going to my classroom to work on lesson plans, grade papers, create tests and worksheets, etc. I am simply not up for that load now!

I miss the students, I miss decorating my classroom and bulletin boards, and I even miss my study hall students!  But my career now involves writing books, no easy task, but certainly less stressful than teaching high school English . . . most of the time. Writing, contrary to popular opinion, is a lot of hard work, and one has to love it in order to stick with it.  Deadlines loom, editing and proofreading await, and cover creation beckons me. Once I submit my manuscript, then I must check the proof carefully before submitting my book for final publication.

And that's just the beginning! There's the marketing aspect to publicize that the book is available for sale! I use social media quite a bit for that, as it seems to work for me. I have a Facebook business page, a Twitter account, this blog as well as another one, a website showcasing my books, a Pinterest page, and a monthly newsletter. Those are about as much as this one person can take care of on any given day.

I cannot finish this post without saying that I am so blessed and thankful to God for my many blessings from Him! He makes all things possible for me, and my life has never been the same since I turned it over to Him.

So, to check out my sites, here they are:

website:  www.MavisDukeHinton.com
Other blog: http://the-dachshund-escapades.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mavisdukehintonsbooks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/writer4dawg
Newsletter signup: http://eepurl.com/biq2s5
Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/mavisdukehinton/my-books/

OH YES, YOU WILL!

Just ask my family!  Even a snippet of a conversation can be attributed to a character in a book, and not necessarily the same person who spoke the words.

I've used all sorts of scenarios and "pieces of life" in my books:  a humorous gift, a comment, a location, a funny happening, and so on.  For instance, grandson Asher didn't tell Sarge the doxie that Sarge was a baby, but actually said it to one of his playmates.  The comment just seemed to fit the situation.

I've overheard things complete strangers have said, and I've made mental notes of them, often including such.

Therefore, it's a good idea never to say anything you don't want repeated.  You never know who is listening!  Privacy is a thing of the past in today's world anyway.  Phone conversations, texts, emails, Facebook "private" messages--do you really think nobody else reads/listens??

Big Brother has turned out to be technology!

"The good old days" - I'd much rather have computers and smart phones!

CHANGING DIRECTION: A DIFFERENT PATH CAN BRING BLESSINGS

A few years ago, we (my publisher Oaktara and I) chose to change the dog's name in my books as well as my first book's title and series name.  Suffice it to say that an individual planned to sue if we didn't, saying he/she had placed a trademark on the name I had used.  Although my dog's name was not really under a trademark, we decided that years of court battles and hundreds of thousands of  dollars in costs were just not worth the battle, although we were not in the wrong.  My book would have been shelved during those years as well.  I've found that the individual in question has also gone after other authors and entities for that same reason, citing that he/she was planning a TV series using the dog's name that I (and they) had chosen.  That TV series, by the way, has never happened. 

GET 'EM WHILE THEY'RE DOWN!

My books in THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES series have been reduced on Amazon! I AM SARGE has been reduced to $11.66, and I AM DACHSHUND has been reduced to $13.22! Order yours before the prices go up again :).

Written from Sarge the dachshund's viewpoint, you'll be laughing out loud at his "lowdown on the ground" regarding his family, friends, and life in general :). Sarge's stories are based on my real family, and are 95% true--from Papa Duke's humorous-but-true funny Army stories, to Sarge's keen insight into humans, these books would delight any dog lover, from older children to adults--and perfect Christmas gifts!  (Yes, it's time to begin thinking about Christmas already.)

Here's the link to I AM SARGE:
http://www.amazon.com/Am-Sarge-Mavis-Duke-Hinton/dp/1602903158/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349982783&sr=1-1&keywords=I+AM+SARGE

I AM DACHSHUND:
http://www.amazon.com/Am-Dachshund-Mavis-Duke-Hinton/dp/1602902593/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1308002196&sr=1-1#reader_B0057CR860

 Note:  DACHSHUNDS FOREVER, my third book in the series, is with my publisher and awaiting publication.  And, A DACHSHUND'S TRIBUTE, the fourth book, is about three-fourths of the way completed :).

WARNING!

 

I have been known to include snippets of conversations--even entire scenarios--in my books, so watch out!

DACHSHUNDS FOREVER UPDATE

Shadow and Duke

Several readers I met at a recent book signing asked about the status of this book, so I promised I would keep them posted. Therefore, here's my DACHSHUNDS FOREVER update:

Shadow's bat impression!

I now have 120,000 words and still have a few chapters to go. Therefore, I will probably split it into two books, because I simply don't want to say good-bye to THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES!  In fact, I already have a title for Book 4:  A DACHSHUND'S TRIBUTE.

Piper

There is so much I want to include in this supposed-finale of the series! I have already written in more of Papa Duke's stories, Sarge's encounter with "Elvis," his long RV trip out west, his take on several of his human family's birthday parties, and his training and mentoring of Duke.

Tate

Sarge's humorous shenanigans with the family's felines are also chronicled: Piper, Aslan, and Tate and Joey, whom he dubs the "Fuzz Brothers."

Joey

I plan on finishing the manuscript very soon, then complete my editing, tweaking, and rewriting--then it's off to my editor at OakTara.   Sometime after that, DACHSHUNDS FOREVER will enter the publication process and become a book, in both paperback and e-book editions.

Stay tuned for further updates, fellow doxie lovers!  <{{{<

Aslan