Yes, it is all true.

Tags

authentic, Great Lakes, Lake Michigan, memoir, Michigan, petoskeys, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Tori, Lori, Nancy, Susie, Cindy, Christie, Sarah, Me, and Mary (1976)

When I have the privilege of meeting readers of Memory Lake, they are surprised to learn how much of the novel is true.  “In real life there is another Nancy, a Christie, Lori, Tori, Susie, Cindy, Sarah, and Mary?”, they ask.  Yes, I reply, supposing they are an e-reader, because it is easy to miss the picture on page 3.

“My daughter’s name is KT, her best friends are Angela and Katie, my sister’s name is Susan, and the camp really exists though I changed its name,” I say with a genuine smile, because the honor of writing about them still lingers.  “Water spouts often form over Lake Michigan and the Sleeping Bear Dunes are huge.”  Few readers question the validity of the rest of the novel because its coming-of-age conflict and character interactions speak to the human experience.  We all need to overcome fear.  We all need to learn that putting on a smile, especially when we least feel like it, leads to real joy.

KT, Katie, Angela, and Lake Michigan (2004)

Whether you devour Memory Lake over a week-end, *”like an irresistible box of candy”, or deliberately spread it out, because like camp, *”you don’t want it to end”, please know it is 99% true.  The 1% is to keep the story flowing and to protect the sanctity of locations.

Petoskeys; Michigan’s state rock (fossils of prehistoric coral) also mentioned in “Memory Lake”.

* Quotes from reviews.

The Sound of Waterfalls

Tags

brain tumor, Columbia River Gorge, Eagle Creek Wilderness Area, Hearing loss, Magnetic resonance imaging, Michigan in Pictures, Michigan waterfalls, MRI, Porcupine Mountains, waterfalls, wind chime

Eagle Creek Wilderness Area, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon…

“Who spends Friday night having an MRI of their brain?” I wondered while sitting in the waiting room at 10pm this past Friday.  Turns out, I’m not the only one having magnetic resonance imaging in lieu of celebrating the end of another work week.  Mine, however, requires the staff to change the machine’s magnet, since those fine little passages of the ear are tough to capture, so I am the last customer of the day.  My husband is so sweet to spend this time with me.  He even delivered to the technician my old MRI from 1994.  Large as a cook top, and weighing nearly as much, these antiquated images wrapped in brown paper caused the staff to wax nostalgic.  Nowadays, results are delivered on a sleek disk.

Hiding behind a waterfall is quite exciting…

I am confident the new images will not reveal a brain tumor any more than the old ones did.  However, because sudden hearing loss at my age is rare, even though it has happened before, tumors must be ruled out.  I am sad for all the tones I’ve lost, especially since my mind remembers the way ELO and Super Tramp are supposed to sound.  On the flip side, I am delighted by the new sounds I hear.  Tinkling wind chimes and rushing waterfalls have filled the void and keep me company when people are talking about things I cannot hear.  The wind chimes are occasional phenomenon, same as the real thing.  However, I hear a waterfall in my right ear all the time.  It is soothing and comforting, and allows me to picture the most beautiful ones I’ve ever seen. My favorite will always be the one in “Memory Lake”.  “The waterfall reflected a silvery sheen from the sun except mid-center where a faint, dark shape loomed behind the torrential curtain.”  We dared to cross a cliff and “…catapulted sideways. The water bent into a million fragmented rainbows,” as we disappeared into the falls.  “The walls shimmered in a coppery glow. We howled and shouted, but the thundering fall would not allow our voices to be heard.  Its jealous volume dominated.”

I do not have a photo of that prophetic natural wonder of my youth from the Porcupine Mountains, though I suspect it might be among those captured in Michigan in Pictures.  I plan to study them thoroughly, searching for the spark of a memory, while hearing my own special sound effects.

“The Captain is on the Bridge.” Emmet Fox.

Tags

believe, Captain, civilization, Emmet Fox, God, prayer, President, sunrise

Regardless of news reports, “The world is not going to the dogs.  The human race is not doomed.  Civilization is not going to crash.  The Captain is on the bridge.”

Sunrise or sunset?

The Captain is not President, Congress, Prime Minister, Parliament, or Pope. Emmet Fox reminds us, “God is still in business.”  It may seem incompetent buffoons are in charge, and we have little say in how they govern us; except to vote every so often and write a letter or two.  In truth, when all of us band together and “…realize the Presence of God where trouble seems to be,” we can affect change.  Close your eyes, breath deeply, smile because all is well, and mentally put God in charge.  That’s it.  You have just prayed for your country. Believe it. God is on the Bridge.

Thank you to thousands of readers!

Tags

Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Book, E-book, IPad, Kindle Store, Memory Lake, Nook, sales, Shopping, statistics, Thank you, writing

I am warmed and humbled by readers who have taken a chance on Memory Lake.  Thank you for spreading the word, for purchasing a paperback or e-book, for borrowing it from your library, or lending it to a friend.

Some statistics:  “411,422 books were published in the U.S. in 2007.  1,052,803 books were published in the U.S. 2009.  Approximately 3,000,000 books were published in the U.S. in 2011.*   Titles for 2012 will probably exceed 15 million.  Almost 80% of these titles sold fewer than 100 copies. **

“Books-a-Million” display

Admittedly, promotion has been tough.  But, I’m not in it for the money.  I’m in it for the message.  I believe in Memory Lake.  Thank you for believing in it as well, because paperback sales alone surpassed 1,000 copies at summer’s end, and continue. 

Memory Lake took seven years of my life to write and edit.  Every word was carefully chosen and later verified by Harvard and Notre Dame PhD’s.  The novel’s message was officially stamped ‘Inspirational’ by Next Generation Indie Award judges in June.  Each morning of those seven years of writing, before turning on my computer, I would pray, “Lord, let me do thy will. Let me be a vessel for your message.”  (Yes, I really do use ‘thy’ when praying because I love the classics, and no, I am not a preacher.)  I simply set out to tell an uplifting story, amid so many to the contrary, and to clarify those life lessons which I needed to relearn.  I took a chance that many of you needed to relearn them too, though not through a boring biography, or self-help textbook, but through a novel’s highly descriptive immersion into youth; into a time when we knew these truths most effortlessly.

As one reader wrote, “Certainly overcoming fear is not a new concept, but it bears repeating and you have done so quite beautifully. Thank you for reminding me of this at a time when I need to remember it most.”   No, thank you dear readers for reminding me at a time when I need it most.  Promotion for Memory Lake will continue in 2013 because you have reminded me it is worth promoting.

A lovely sight to see on September 16, 2012 (Memory Lake’s Amazon Kindle ranking):

• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,021 Paid in Kindle Store  (See  Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #80 in Kindle  Store > Kindle  eBooks > Nonfiction > Advice & How-to > Parenting & Families > Parenting > Teenagers

Source blogs:

*  http://ptbertram.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/how-many-books-are-going-to-be-published-in-2012-prepare-for-a-shock/

**  http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/10/14/amazon-gets-back-to-its-roots.aspx#.UFSqNY1lSuQ