E-books--oh, my!

I've been working hard for two days to post Mattie on Kindle and Smashwords. Finally got it up on both, though don't go rushing there. I have to proof and okay. But today comes a letter from the reprint publisher of Mattie discussing reversion of rights, which I'd asked for, and saying they're considering making some backlist available as e-books and pod. Am I interested? Of course, it's easier for them to do it than me, but I've already done it. I replied to that effect, only to find out that I shouldn't have posted it without checking with them first. I thought, since I had rights from Doubleday, the original publisher, it was all ok. Not so. But the representative of Leisure Books was nice, said they wouldn't want to rob me of revenue (as if I'll make a fortune) and we'd cross the bridge of their rights if they decide to e-publish. Fine with me. They'd probaby format their version better than mine, but tonight I must begin to proofread all over again. I may put that off until tomorrow. This bright new technology isn't all that bright sometimes--formatting is hard.
And then once you get the digital books up, there's the problem of marketing. Watch for a link here to free samples soon (I hope) on my web page. Is all this hard work to build a career worth it at my age? Yeah, I think so.
Dishwasher is repaired, toilet fixed, and my back bettter--things are looking up. However, tonight I think I smell sewer gas in the house--not sure how to tell if it's a gas leak, but since I smell it mostly in the bathrooms, I suspect it has to do with the plumbing. Or my imagination. I'll ask my neighbor to give it a sniff test tomorrow.
Went to a Christmas Open House today with spectacular food--a whole salmon with andalouse sauce (mayonnaise with pimiento and maybe tomato puree--I didn't know either until I looked it up), wonderful cheddar and Maytag blue cheese with figs, dates, and dried apricots, green beans and asparagus with good sauces--I didn't even try the desserts. Oh, and a flaky phyllo thing that had sort of lemon-flavored goat cheese baked in it--tiny pastries. Sooo good. I think I was the only person there who was not a docent at the Amon Carter Museum but they were all so friendly (I guess docent training makes you outgoing). I especially enjoyed a visit with the Carter's librarian where we discussed everything from research and publishing to Kindle and e-books. A pleasant late afternoon event and nice to get home before dark.

Spring weekend, Jacob and cooking

What a lovely weekend. Sunny and a perfect temperature all weekend. Last night, Jay came over with a beer, and we waited for Jacob to arrive and his Susan to come home. When Jordan arrived with Jacob, they joined us on the porch, and then Jordan's friend Julia came to pick her up--so we had an impromptu happy hour. Jay is so good with Jacob--he came inside and sat with us while we ate, and Jacob ate a tuna burger with melted cheddar on it, inside a bun, dipped in ketchup. Hooray! I didn't have to fix chicken nuggets.  Jacob and I had a pleasant evening, but this morning he was a bit of a grouch (he often is in the morning) and his grandmother had not put his nighttime diaper on so that it didn't leak--wet spot on the bed, which made him grumpier and a laundry for me to do.
Tonight old and good friends came for supper--I fixed an al fresco dinner, though we only had appetizers on the porch--store-bought hummus that I'd doctored with olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes chopped up,
marinated feta, and pita chips. For dinner I served a cold platter--strips of chicken and salmon, deviled eggs, artichoke hearts, cherub tomatoes, carrots, strips of Manchego cheese, half ears of corn (so sweet I longed for the whole ear)--the kind of food I love. Mary asked if I could fix that again in August, please. Paula brought gelato for dessert--so good! It's fun to visit with people you don't see very often, because you talk about ideas and concepts and things of the mind, though we lapsed into a lot of talk about cats. Still, it was a lovely evening, and we did talk about the museum district and the parking problem (Ron is director of the Amon Carter) and TCU Press and all sorts of matters. Makes me happy with my life to be with friends like that.
On to next week--once again I hope to work on my novel. I think I've finished my addiction to the series about the Blackbird sisters, but more about that another evening.
Jamie participated in a triathlon in Galveston today--I tracked his time on a website, but I don't know if he will have been pleased or disappointed. Waiting to hear. As always, I'm proud of him for his competitive spirit and his dedication to fitness.