The Kindle Conundrum

I'm taking deep breaths now. My Kindle book is indeed on the promotion, after days of checking to make sure I put all information in correctly, with the final day, today, holding my breath until I saw that yes it had worked - it really was on Amazon!
My partner has been coming by at intervals, to stand just outside the door of my 'office' (a desk in the living room) and wait for me to look up from the keyboard so he can repeat his droll,
"That book is driving you nuts." 

 In a way, he's right! Sometimes it seems like I've spent as many hours on the self-publishing and promoting process as I did creating the book! It's consoling to be in touch with other authors who understand, commiserate, and at times kindly offer suggestions.

Create Space is very helpful, once you get the hang of it. Amazon also, although they are still confusing my author pages with links to the first and now out of print 'novel' I published in 2013. Was it a Tuesday 13th that day too? Oh - that's the day to beware of in Greece, not America's Friday 13th. I'm pretty sure there must be a typo or two somewhere in the manuscript that I've missed. I am not a person who thrives on details. A Greek friend in the writing/publishing business told me that even Kazantzakis' books have a few typos. Perfection invites the dreaded evil eye. She and I laughed together at the thought of anyone coveting my fledgling authorship, as they might his.

The other huge consolation for all my time spent is hearing from some readers that my book has inspired them. That was one of my heartfelt goals - to inspire readers to take their dreams more seriously...at least seriously enough to help them leap over the roadblocks that even a relatively directed life-style can set up. 

 In the early 90's after I moved to Greece I was soaking in bliss. Before long, however, I was frantically running around and racing up and down the mountain on my moped organizing a painting holiday for artists: get the flight and ferry schedules straight - search for the right accommodations at the right price - run to the post office to mail the information - receive a letter with questions and run back home to write another update and mail it to that person - get prices for our dinners from the tavernas - prices for the entertainment - find painting sites near restrooms - what had I forgotten? it seemed endless, and I wasn't making enough time to paint.

.

 I'd arranged several painting workshops to Greece while in the US, but both had been problematic in different ways. Now that I was living here, surely I could ward off the problems?
I had to make sure that everyone would have a fantastic time and nothing would go amiss!! At the time, computers, internet and cellphones did not yet exist on the island, and calling the US from Greece was expensive enough to be done only in an emergency. In retrospect, I can't imagine how I managed to do so much with just a pen and a notebook. 

 One late afternoon it really all got to me. I was both exhausted and depressed to the point of tears when I met with the owner of the travel company helping me find accommodations. He asked me something about the trip, and I blurted out, "I just don't know if this workshop is going to work out after all."

We chatted about the perils of the travel industry for a few minutes, and it was a relief to just have someone to talk with who understood.

And then he asked a question that surprised me a bit, coming from a businessman. 

"Well, what was your dream when you came here?" 

 He actually said the word 'dream'. 

I answered slowly, struggling with the words, as if I was waking from a deep sleep. 

 "I wanted just to have a little studio near the sea and paint." Ahhh, the relief!  I can remember it now. "Well, what's stopping you?" he asked. 

He didn't need to say another word. After all my anxiety about the workshop, it went well. And the loveliest part was that one of the artists, Erin Dertner, who had flown all the way from California solo for her first trip abroad, continues bringing artists to Poros for workshops here every few years. I love joining her and her friends to paint when I can but otherwise, I'm just living my dream on the island - painting, sometimes writing - and enjoying the new technological advances that keep me connected with the wider world...as long as I don't let the advances drive me nuts

So, here it is. Yeia Mas, y'all - have a lovely evening!

Promo .99 - 2.99 now through 18 August '16.
Link: B00H14P86O