Friday, June 30, 2017

Celebrate the Small Things: A Fun and Safe 4th of July

I want to wish everyone a fun and safe 4th of July. I expect a lot of you will take today off, and Monday and Tuesday too. That makes for a nice five-day holiday. I remember those times. Working hard five days a week, with never enough vacation time. But when the calendar fell just right, we'd take a trip and go camping somewhere. Or barbecue at home, buy 'illegal' fireworks at the reservation, and have some old-fashioned fun.

Not sure what hubby and I will be doing. Company is coming, so I suppose that means hamburgers and fireworks at the park. We may participate in the annual golf cart parade. We live in a semi-retirement community, so there are a lot of golf carts!


Meanwhile.....I'm still promoting my new book, The Shells of Mersing, and could use some serious readers and Amazon Reviews. A FREE eBOOK COPY to anyone interested!

Did you know the story starts in Seattle in 1995? Email and the internet were brand new then, and cells phones were practically non-existent in the U.S. However, in Malaysia, where half the novel is set, cell phones were definitely in use and becoming rather popular. 

It was fun introducing my main character to Email and Cell phones for the first time, having lived in Malaysia myself in 1995. I remember my writer friends in the states were nervous about sending their manuscripts half way around the world over the internet for critiques (as was I). Our worries ranged from worrying about losing our work entirely to getting an enormous internet bill!! Boy, have things changed.






Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

19 comments:

  1. I too wish all in the US a happy 4th of July, it will be my grandson's birthday that day also.
    Loved the post.
    Have a great week-end.

    Yvonne.

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    1. Well, Happy Birthday to your grandson 🙄. Have an enjoyable day!

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  2. A golf cart parade on the 4th of july sounds awesome. I'm planning on bringing my child to see the fireworks for the first time. stopping by from #CTST

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    1. We've only been here a couple years, but it's been a
      tradition for a long time. Some decorate too. Thanks for visiting!

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  3. One of my cousins lived in an area of Georgia not too far from Atlanta where a huge portion of kids in the high school rode their golf carts to school! She sent us a picture of the parking lot full of these carts. Sounds fun to me.

    It's hard to remember back to the days before cell phones and internet. I love the ease of computers and Google for writing, but I've never been a fan of phones.

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    1. Oh what fun for those highschoolers! We can ride anywhere in our small community. Have always wanted an electric vehicle! I love it. I have mixed feelings about cell phones. The voice quality of Ma Bell phone service was so much better. Oh well. It is what it is!

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  4. So happy to hear you have a new book out. I mentioned it in MY blog post with a link to this one.

    I hope you have a happy Fourth. I usually spend the day alone doing yard work and in the evening I annoy the barn cats with a small firework or two.

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    1. Hi, nice to meet you Thank you for the shout out! Hope you have a pleasant Fourth.

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  5. Sharon, I plan to read the book during our 20-hour drive to Saskatchewan, next weekend. I'll post a review when I get back, around the 12th. Meanwhile, it would be nice if a few of your compatriots at Everteen would review it. Ask Scott or Rachel, Chad or Suzanna to review it, too. Or your brother, your sister. Vince's brother, sister. I suspect a lot of reviews get written by family members. I could ask my granddaughter, Miya to read and review it. She's Callie's exact age.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Cathy. I'm reaching out to eBook readers. Evernight authors do swap reviews and Im working on that now. It takes time to read a book and then do a review. This has made me more sensitive to other authors out there and bloggers I know who have written books. I will definitely be doing more reviews myself! It apears most in my family want the print version...signed. I don't blame them. I'd rather hold a book in my hands too ☺ Have a nice trip!!

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  6. Happy 4th to you and family Sharon! I'd be very willing to read and review ... only problem is time. How much time would you give a reader? Is it long - approx no of pages?

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    1. Thank you Susan! 237 pages, 78k. I understand the time issue. I have several awaiting reviews myself. Honest, No deadlines here at all. Just would appreciate the looksee when you can. I'd be happy to send a copy. I'll be in touch.

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  7. Yesterday was Territory Day in the Northern Territory. it's the only day of the year that selling, buying and letting off firecrackers is legal. They were banned in my home state (NSW) more than 30 years ago.

    I'd be happy to read The Shells of Mersing and review it. Please send me a digital copy. (I'd prefer PDF if you have one)

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    Replies
    1. Territory Day. I love the pioneer feel of that. We are both young countries, at least I think that's true. Fire danger is high where I live now. Desert stretches with lots of sage brush and like, probably similar to Australia. When fire ignite, it moves fast, and fire crews show up at our small airport. Not so worrisome where I lived before. We could set off fireworks and not do too much damage. I hope everyone follows the rules. There's usually some idiot who doesn't!

      Thanks, David regarding a review! Look for a PDF coming your way soon!

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  8. Enjoy your 4th of July! I'm not sure what we'll be up to either. Guess we'll see!

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  9. I hope you had a great time with your holiday as I did. It is funny how the last 20 some odd years have changed so much when dealing with technology. Back then, clients I had were just incorporating their phone with the cable bill and rarely did someone have internet costs. Now, most people only have a cell phone and have got rid of their home phones plus they also have got rid of their cable! People now don't know what to do without the cell phones and everyone has Netflix and the internet is thought of as something we always had.

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    1. I did, thank you. Things really have changed. And I remember the carrier charges along with local phone co. bills, as direct dial became common. Now it feels like ancient history. Yep, we got rid of cable too, last year, and we haven't had a land line in years! What next I wonder?

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You could call me an eternal optimist, but I'm really just a dreamer. l believe in dream fulfillment, because 'sometimes' dreams come true. This is a blog about my journey as a writer and things that inspire and motivate me.