Travel Nightmare!

I need to vent about our weekend. Sometimes, the airlines drive me crazy!

My husband is a frequent traveler and has been this way for over 22 years. He has accrued countless air miles along with experiences which have taught him what to avoid.

We attended his high school reunion in Chicago over the weekend. We had a split flight. We flew from DFW to Kansas City, then Kansas City to Chicago.

When we arrived in Chicago, our one checked bag was not in the baggage area. We filed a report on the missing bag and went to our hotel with the instructions the bag be delivered there.

Being seasoned travelers, we knew to pack essentials in our carry on bag, so we were good for the night, but visions of running to the closest mall to pickup clothes were daunting. I am petite and have problems finding clothes, where my husband is a tall man and suffers from the same thing.

Fortunately, our luggage arrived at 7 am, the next morning and things were fine.

Coming back on Monday, THE SAME THING HAPPENED! We checked our luggage at O'Hare on Flight 1046, to arrive at Dallas at 12:50 at Terminal C. Lo and behold, our luggage was not there. The baggage CSR checked to find that our bag had been put on Flight 2312, WITHOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE and was waiting for us in Terminal A.

I don't know if anyone is familiar with DFW airport. It's huge. No one offered to get the bag for us. We were told to take the bus from C to A to pick up our bag. We waited for 40 minutes for a bus to come, in the 105 heat. Driver's excuse was that there were new drivers on the shift.

Put my writing skills to a test...how to complain effectively to get the desired results.

Only good news is? I've come up with another story for my books...

Branson, MO

This has been a world wind of a summer so far and it's not over yet!

Let's see...went to a destination wedding; went to a mechanical bull riding party, had company over the 4th of July, submitted my hockey romance, The Sin Bin, (no word from the publisher whether or not they accepted it) and went to Branson, MO.

Which is why I posted my Not Just an Act, which is based in Branson. We did things we haven't done from the last time we were there. We saw the other side of Branson which doesn't have the shows; it's where people really live. It is truly beautiful country with Table Rock Lake and the surrounding communities. And the boats? Whoa! I think that some of them cost more than the houses!

We had family with us and thanks to my brother in law, Dan, I now have a solid idea for my next book. The characters are really speaking to me. I need to buckle down and get busy!

Oh and the other thing? I passed driving my husband's new car test with flying colors! Doesn't mean I want to drive it. I'm still very attached to mine!

Milestones

It's done! I submitted my hockey romance to Lazy Day/Blushing Books! I hope they enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it!

My website is almost done! I will let you know when it's ready.

Now on to my next manuscript....

Relax? Ha!

Almost There!

What a great time with some really good friends on the Fourth of July! Thank you so much!!

This has been a really busy week for me and it looks like the coming week will be the same. Why, you ask?

I am determined to submit my book to my publisher this week. This means perfecting it as much as I can; writing my blurb to entice readers and finally building my web site with my awesome web designer. The folks I use to read my manuscript have been busy with their red pens and 'suggestions' which will make it a better story.

So, if I am quiet, you will know why!

Oh, did I mention the party we will host on Saturday for my husband's co-workers? Yup! I will be a bundle of nerves so keep the wine flowing.....

Author Dilemmas

As I said last week, I finally finished the first draft of my next Romantic Comedy. It's been a long time in the making due to lots of interruptions, but whew! I have distributed it for comments and corrections and am waiting for feedback before submitting it to the publisher.

This is my story and I write what I feel. Does it sell? I really don't know how well. I know my friends have bought my books and they are very honest about their feedback. A few of them have admitted that no. It's not their cup of tea and I understand completely. Then I have others who tell me how much they enjoy them and can't wait for the next one.

If they are not selling well, is it because I'm not advertising them enough? I have a professional Facebook page (Lois L Kasznia) and am on Twitter (LoisKasznia). I have this blog and am now creating a web page with the help of a professional. I have taken an ad out for the online Affaire de Couer July/August magazine to promote my work. I am also a member of Romance Writers of America.

My publisher, Blushing Books/Lazy Day promote all of their authors and do not single one out from the other. They advertise in the RWA magazine and are quite active in the writing community. They host seminars to attend but for me, it is a dilemma to attend them. I do not make enough money off of my books to pay for an airline ticket plus hotel costs, to attend them.

I have started a savings plan to remedy this problem but I wonder if other authors suffer from the same dilemma.

Another question I pose is my stories. They no longer fit into the direction of the company and I find myself in the middle. I do not write Erotica nor religious stories but I do write Happy Ever After stories about people who make mistakes and correct them. Maybe its because I always seem to see the good in people and believe that they can change for the better. Speaking of change; do I change my style?

Back to Writing!

These last two weeks have been very hectic! First off, I went on a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas for a destination wedding. It was only four days, but they were action packed. My mistake was trying to keep up with the younger generation, even though I don't think of myself as being old.

The week before the cruise, I spent time preparing for the trip; packing, cleaning, holding mail and the paper delivery. Oh, and what about my writing? I had to squeeze that in when I could.

When I got back, there were a deluge of appointments for repair and doctors but I did manage to finish the first draft of my upcoming book. I also made an appointment to meet with a webpage developer to help promote my books.

Back to the wedding. It was fantastic. The bride and groom saw to every detail and I have nothing but high praise for them. When we arrived at Orlando, I saw this gigantic cruise ship, with tons of kids running around and I said to myself...uh oh. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, but it's been a while since I've been around so many youngsters.

However, due to the wedding, every moment had been planned out and the ship did offer adult only areas. But I am always very aware of my surroundings and I now have lots of material for future books.

The flooding in our area of Texas has been of great magnitude but I feel blessed that our damage is minimal to what some others have experienced. It is true when they say, everything is bigger in Texas.

It feels good to be back to normal and will concentrate on the second draft of the book!

Entering the Home Stretch

I'm down to the last chapters of the book I'm working on. It is so frustrating because there is so much going on in my life, I really am struggling to find time to actually finish it.

We are going to be attending a wedding on a Disney Cruise which goes to the Bahamas. Very excited because we are so happy for the bride and groom in addition to going on a cruise again. It is a packed four day period and the preparation for it has so many details. I've tried to ignore it by burying my head in my work but I've been called out by my husband to get my act together. Argh!

What else has happened this week...our 28 year old patio glass table shattered into a zillion pieces. They no longer carry the model and to replace the glass costs more than what the table is worth. Way to start out the summer.

The booster pump to our pool burned out. You knew it was waiting just when the water turned warm enough for swimming.

Someone is pirating my books...

Not very considerate neighbors...

And it's summer...everything here is under construction. It takes three times as long to get anywhere! Great planning by the engineers!