Flowerpot cake by Mary Dulle
Photo courtesy Mary Dulle
The Guppy (Going to be published)
chapter of Sisters in Crime weekly opens the listserv to NPV (non-publishing
victories) brags from members. I usually don’t respond because I don’t have a
lot to brag about these days—published or not, I’ve been in a long dry spell,
partly because I spent a lot of time on the Helen Corbitt book that never
became a book. But today I do have some small victories.
One that I simply forgot to
publicize because I put it aside to later make a “big” marketing effort, as if
I knew how to do that, is that my one collection of short stories, Sue Ellen
Learns to Dance and Other Stories, is now available on Amazon in audio
version. It’s my second foray into audio publishing, but the first was not very
successful, probably due to a lack of marketing. I vow to do better with this
book. Short stories are hard for me—the idea has to hit me hard, and then I
have to sit down and put it into words right away. I am in awe of people who
write, “I am working on a short story.” I wonder how long it takes to write and
polish 3,000 words. Yes, I go back and edit, but I almost never write a bit,
put it aside, and go back and finish it.
Two of these stories, “Sue
Ellen Learns to Dance” and “Fool Girl,” won Wrangler awards from the National
Cowboy Museum and Hall of Fame, and one, “The Art of Dipping Candles,” brings
me to tears every time I read it—a boastful things to say about one’s own
writing, but it’s true. Try it.
Since my audio of Saving Irene
was not the blockbuster I hoped, I had put aside the idea of audio, decided
it wasn’t for me. But then Amazon made me an offer I couldn’t resist: a free
audio version using AI. Now every author I know resists AI, fearful it will take
over our creativity—and maybe our already published works. Plus it’s
competition. AI can write a book much faster than the human brain can write,
proof, edit, design, etc. Still, it was free. I tried it. Overall I thought the
AI voice was acceptable—not great, but okay. In several instances, the inflection
of a phrase or a word is not what I would have done, but I think the human ear
may be less critical than the eye. The thing that most bothered me was the mispronunciation
of Texas terms and place names. My AI “person” was clearly not a Texan. The
town of Hereford became Her-e-ford, and the word cousie (for chuckwagon cook)
was similarly butchered.
Since I’m blatantly marketing the
book, here’s a link to the Amazon audio: Amazon.com:
Sue Ellen Learns to Dance and Other Stories (Audible Audio Edition): Judy
Alter, Alter Ego Publishing, Virtual Voice: Books It’s also available in
Kindle and paperback editions, but the paperback has a different cover, a
Dorothea Lange Depression photo that is a classic. I like it better than the
updated cover, but I’m told it’s not as marketable. Really dislike that aspect
of the writing business.
Oops. I’ve gone on so long I’ll
have to be brief about my second small triumph: today was the second of Mary
Dulle’s two-part class on the cooking of Helen Corbitt. Mary did a masterful job
with such recipes as turkey mornay and flowerpot cakes (Ladybird’s favorite),
and I got to talk about the seismic changes in American food culture during the
fifties and a bit how that affects us today, the Greenhouse Spa (if you don’t
remember it, google it—ultimate luxury in the sixties and seventies), and
Corbitt’s books. She wrote five cookbooks, all of them still available today. The
class was responsive, had people who really took part, and it was fun. I am
still intrigued by the Corbitt story and hope to find other things to do with
it in the future.
Meantime, tonight, back to
editing Irene in a Ghost Kitchen.
