It was party time this week. Every year on January 13th, David and I celebrate his new-life birthday. It started in 2006, one year after his traumatic brain injury, which he survived with a 1/600 chance of living. Those odds are definitely worth celebrating.
 
     I baked a cake­­––his favorite, white cake with white fluffy frosting. I plopped the whole cake in front of him for a photo op. He must have thought it was his lucky day. He loves cake. He loves all desserts.
 
     “Is that all for me?” he asked, with his eyes nearly popping out of his head. “NO!” I said. “You wish! That’s just for the picture.” I snapped the photo, grabbed the cake, and delivered it to the safety of the counter. I cut an extra large slice for David, a smaller one for me. We enjoyed that cake. AND…we will enjoy it for about four or five more days. Happy sweet 16 re-birthday, David!
 
See you soon.
Donna - author of  Prisoners without Bars: A Caregiver’s Tale
Print
eBook
Audiobook

 
     Only a best girlfriend can give you a lotion jar with the words Oil of Old Age etched on the jar and you still love her. My best friend, Trish (aka Patty Williams Streips), gave me that gift about twenty years ago and it sits next to my kitchen sink where it reminds me of her every day. And it still makes me giggle.
 
     Trish knew I was a fanatic user of Oil of Olay, a moisturizing cream that my mother introduced to me when I was about twenty years old. My mother insisted that I use it every day. “Just slather it on your face,” she said. Now, I didn’t often listen to my mother, but for some magical reason unbeknownst to me, this time I listened.
 
     I use Oil of Olay religiously every single day. My mother said it would keep the wrinkles away, and it worked for her. Guess what? It’s working for me too. Not a wrinkle to be found. As I am getting older, perhaps I should double up on my usage. I wish my mother were here to tell me what to do.
 
     This post is in In honor of both my best girlfriend, Trish, and my mother who are no longer here to use Oil of Olay.

See you soon.
Donna - author of  Prisoners without Bars: A Caregiver’s Tale
Print
eBook
Audiobook

According to my husband, Columbia University Professor Emeritus, Dr. David Figurski, Santa is immune from Covid-19. He heard that great news from Dr. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
 
I am so relieved to know that Christmas is not canceled. I will be peering through the night sky to catch a glimpse of Santa and his eight reindeer tonight. For all you kids and kids-at-heart like me, you can follow his progress around the world on NORAD Santa Tracker. He’s already begun his journey and in now in Africa. He’s heading towards Angola.

I’ve shared David’s post from survivingtraumaticbraininjury.com below.
 
 
                                   COVID-19: Dr. Fauci: Don't Worry – Santa Claus is Immune to COVID-19 
 
(Disclaimer: The World Health Organization <WHO> has officially named the new coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes as COVID-19. Because the majority of people, including much of the press, commonly refer to the virus as “COVID-19,” to avoid confusion, I use COVID-19 as the name of the virus in this post.)
 
Children and parents don’t have to worry that the pandemic will ruin Christmas.
 
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the President’s Coronavirus Task Force and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has stated (video) that Santa has excellent innate immunity. (Innate immunity is the body’s first line of defense against viruses. Specific neutralizing antibodies develop a couple of days later.)
 
Santa’s immunity is so good that he can’t get infected by COVID-19 and, consequently, he can’t spread the virus. In fact, he doesn’t need a vaccine. All the elves and Mrs. Claus are staying safe by wearing masks and practicing social distancing. It also turns out that the cells of Santa’s reindeer don’t make the receptor for the virus, so the reindeer can’t be infected.
 
For those who are concerned about receiving gifts on Christmas morning, the good news is that Santa and his reindeer will make their usual Christmas eve worldwide trip.
 
Have a happy and safe holiday.
See you soon.
Donna - author of  Prisoners without Bars: A Caregiver’s Tale

     This post is a repost from one of my others blogs. It's much longer than I usually write here, BUT, I think you will find it humorous. It's all about REJECTION!
HINT–If you can't take rejection, don't be a writer.

Musings by Donna #57 Love it – BUT…

Know the market, they say. Have patience. Be persistent. Never stop sending in your manuscripts. When your manuscript is rejected (the darn little homing pigeon) don’t wait. Send it back out to the next agent or editor on your list – the list you so diligently compiled after searching books like the current edition of Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market (fondly called CWIM by children’s writers), or the Guide to Literary Agents, or the Writer’s Market. Be dedicated to your writing. Believe in it. Don’t let the bogged down system get you bogged down or overwhelmed. All good advice!
In the children’s market, there was a time when I could tell you which editor moved where and when and what they were looking for. That was the time when I was actively sending in my children’s picture book stories. In the early 1990s right through to about 2005, I’ve sent about twenty different children’s stories to thirty-one different editors or agents. That was also the time I regularly attended children’s writer’s conferences and workshops in New York, New Jersey, California, and Vermont. SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), both national and regional conferences, and The Vermont Workshop, presented by my friend, Barbara Seuling, remain my favorites. At each of these conferences I met editors and agents and had manuscripts critiqued; and I received coveted invitations to send my work to them for further consideration.
I’ve been patient. Look at the span of years in the paragraph above. That’s a true sign of patience and persistence, and dedication too. I admit – I had help staying focused. Tiny “carrots,” just out of reach, were offered by editors and agents alike. Their words encouraged me to continue to affix stamps on the envelopes and send my work into the world – with hope. Their complimentary comments convinced me that my writing was good and that it had merit, and so I trudged on always believing that the manuscript that I had just dropped into the mailbox would be the one that would not return. But, as each rejection, positive as it may be, arrived in my mailbox, it whittled away my confidence. I began to doubt myself … and my writing too.
Many writers jest about how they could wallpaper their bathroom with their rejections. I believe I’ve surpassed their possibilities. I’m certain I could wallpaper my entire office. Pathetic! But, did you know that Dr. Seuss received 27 rejections for his first book, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street. Ellen Jackson, author of Cinder Edna, received more than 40 letters of rejection for her book, which went on to sell more than 150,000 copies. I’m so glad they didn’t give up. I suppose I am in good company.
I’ve received my share of “Dear Author/Sincerely, The Editor” letters – the ones that say nothing – the ones where you know that probably no one read your manuscript. Here’s a scenario that rolls through my mind. Editor sitting at desk. Inbox with stack of unopened manuscript envelopes. Coffee steaming on right side of desk. (Left if the editor is left-handed.) Editor sighs as he or she stares at the impossibly large pile. Editor pulls envelope from pile and slits open envelope. Glances at first page. Then absentmindedly places a Dear Author/Sincerely form letter on top of manuscript and stuffs both into the SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) that the author provided. Tosses the envelope into the outbox. Sighs with relief – the pile has one less manuscript. Can’t really blame them. Their work is endless and only satisfying when they find the golden nugget.
It’s the many personal rejections that kept me going and I’ve received tons of them. That sounds worse, but it’s not. Those are the carrot letters. (The ones I mentioned above.) Those are the letters that make you print out a new manuscript and immediately pop it back into the mail to a new editor or agent with renewed hope. They are what I call the “Proverbial BUT” letters. They are the letters in which the editor or agent says he or she likes your work, BUT can’t buy it for any number of reasons. I’m posting many of my BUTs below. For the sake of privacy, I didn’t include the name of the editor or agent to the actual quote, nor did I include any other identifying element. I did, however, include a list of the publishing companies at the end of this post. They are not in order. These rejections were for about seven different children’s picture book manuscripts. My combined rejections number near a hundred.
1.    “I like your use of rhyme, repetition, and predictability, but …
2.    Your writing is excellent, but …
3.    Teddy in the Backpack is a very sweet story and I think that Zoe is a great character, but …
4.    I really like the concept of this story, but …
5.    I thought it to be well-written, but …
6.    You write well, no question there, but …
7.    I think you have a nice sense of humor, but …
8.    It is clear you can write, but …
9.    It is well written, but …
10.   This is certainly a fresh story, but …
11.   I think this is the strongest piece you have sent me – it’s funny and charming, and a story young children will relate to well, but …
12.   Molly and Oliver are endearing characters and you have a nice sense of their age group, but …
13.   It’s a funny, charming story, but …
14.   Your writing is “on the cusp,” but …
15.   This is one of the best LAST lines I’ve ever read.  It was great joke, but …
16.   It’s a good story with realistic characters and dialogue, but …
17.   There are many fun elements here and I enjoyed this story’s humor, but …
18.   Your characters are realistic and sympathetically drawn, but …
19.   I enjoyed the rhythm of your writing, as well as the amusing images evoked, but …
20.   I like the gentle sense of humor and think children will enjoy the verbal and visual jokes, but …
21.   The story has nice humor and rhythm to it, but …
22.   I do like the idea quite a bit, but …
23.   Your sense of humor shines through in this piece, and you have a wonderful sense of rhythm, but …
24.   The best aspect of the story is its humor. That means it’s got lots of kid appeal. It’s got rhythm and meter and a fine use of language. You know kids, but …
25.   I would be happy to consider anything else you may write for a young audience.
(I sent many additional stories to editor 25, BUT, alas, they turned out to be more buts …)
The next two rejections are almost in their entirety to show more details of what an editor considers and what our manuscripts are up against. When we send our babies out into the world, we are asking a LOT from them.
26.
Dear Donna,
Thank you for your submission. We enjoyed your story; however, we decided it wasn’t the best fit for our limited list. Please do not be discouraged. We receive approximately two thousand submissions, but we only publish a handful of books per year. Decisions were difficult, and we’ve had to let a lot of good stories go. What doesn’t fit for us may be the perfect match for another publisher.
We really, really liked this story. There are at least two others with very similar plots.
Again, please understand this was a very difficult decision as we take so few picture books. We wish you the best in your writing endeavors.
Please note that this letter is in consideration of this work alone. If you have submitted other work and have not yet received word on it, it is still under consideration.
27.  This was very, very tough, and I rooted for your story to the end. We had two others in the final 25 with very similar plot … a character in school who didn’t belong. And we had a few others with that plot that didn’t make it to the top 50.
I think it’s a great story, and I hope you can place it elsewhere. It was really, really hard to let this one go.
28.   Donna:
You have a strong voice and a terrific sense of kids’ emotions. Your dialogue shows that you know how dialogue works in a story and that you know how kids communicate sometimes by saying what they mean and sometimes by being unable to say what they mean. You could develop the humor in these stories more. You introduce humor, but you need to coax it along. Very young kids respond to slapstick humor, and you are a little reluctant to brig that into your stories. Also, you could work on intensifying the climactic moments of these stories, Sometimes the ideas in the stories are more sophisticated than is usually in picture books. I can see your voice coming forward; you’ve worked hard on that. You are on the brink of having several salable manuscripts.
Yours,
29.   This letter was from an editor who my agent submitted my manuscript to.)
Thank you for your patience while I have been considering Donna O’Donnell Figurski’s Teacher’s Pet. I apologize for the delay in responding to you.
I feel Ms. Figurski has developed a humorous voice that flows and reads smoothly. She has a knack for lacing quirky details throughout her prose—many of which would make for adorable illustrations. I also enjoyed the fact that Mrs. Grickle’s students are “in-the-know”, while she is oblivious to the fact that her new star student is a frog–very funny!
BUT …I’m sorry to say, however, that I don’t’ feel this piece would make a strong addition to the generic company …
I’m really sorry to have this disappointing news for you but thank you for thinking of me for this and wish you the best of luck in finding the right publisher for this project. I do enjoy Ms. Figurski’s easy storytelling voice, and would like to invite you to submit any other manuscripts she may have in the pipeline.
All best wishes for a safe and happy holiday!
Yours,
HarperCollins, Pippin Press, Golden Books, Boyds Mills Press, Henry Holt and Company, Inc., Orchard Books, Simon & Schuster, Holiday House, Harcourt Brace, Charlesbridge, Silver Whistle Books, Winslow Press, Scholastic Press, The Wright Group, Alfred A. Knopf, and Crown Books for Young Readers


So you see, it is the carrots both big and small that keep us writers trailing ink across blank, white pages or keeps our fingertips dancing across the keyboard, searching for that miracle story that an editor or agent will love. J. K. Rowling did it. She didn’t give up on Harry Potter. Twelve rejections did not thwart her belief that she had a great story – seven volumes of magical storytelling. Other great rejections include William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Watership Down by Richard Adams, (a favorite of mine) and J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. Even Stephen King’s book, Carrie, was rejected.
So what good advice can I offer you? Write! Send out your work! And, keep on writing! I will!


Please leave a Comment by simply clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

Feel free to Like my post.

You can also Vote for my post by clicking on a star.

If you enjoy my blog, please pass it on to all your friends and they to theirs.

If you hate my blog, go ahead and send it to your enemies. I won’t mind.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

See you soon.
donna – author of Prisoners without Bars: A Caregiver's Tale

     It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas­­–well as much as it can look like Christmas in the desert with not even a flake of snow. I’m not complaining. The east just got clobbered with up to 43 inches of snow making it look and feel like a magical wonderland, and I do miss the beauty of a blizzard–but I do not miss the freezing temps or having to don an extra five pounds of clothing just to keep warm. I do not miss the ice or the back-breaking work of shoveling the snow.
 
     But, I do love the magic of the lights, the colorful ones, the brilliant whites, and the mystical blue, and I especially love the laser lights projecting snowflakes, reindeer, or colorful swirls against the houses, trees, and cacti. But, not to worry.  We have that magical feeling, here, too, in my desert. Look!

See you soon.
donna – author of Prisoners without Bars: A Caregiver's Tale

     Today is December 17th. It’s not my birthday. I celebrated my birthday on December 7th. But, today, December 17th I get to celebrate again. Today is actually the day my father was born. BUT, this day, my father’s birthday, is the day that he always remembered that he had forgotten my birthday on December 7th.
 
     So, on December 17th each year, I knew my phone would ring. I knew I would hear my father’s off-key voice singing happy birthday to me. And I would laugh because I was expecting his call and expecting his song. He never forgot to call on this day and tell me he forgot my birthday.

     HAPPY BIRTHDAY  to Us!
 
     My Dad is no longer with us, but his memory lives on.

                  Happy Birthday, Daddy!    Happy Birthday, Donna!
 
See you soon.
donna – author of Prisoners without Bars: A Caregiver's Tale

A
                                      Yippee! YAY!

     The audiobook of Prisoners without Bars: A Caregiver’s Tale was finally released on December 16, 2020. For those of you who have been following this journey, you know it took forever long.

     I am the reader of the story and I began the recording process last November. I thought it would take me only a month to complete. Boy, was I wrong. I recorded most nights between 1:00 am after the crickets went to sleep and 5:00 am before the birds began to chirp. I thought I’d read through each chapter one time and it would be perfect. Again, I was wrong.

     I can’t even tell you how many retakes I did. Each time I messed up a word, I had to immediately clang the mic and rerecord that section. Then I had to note the page, paragraph, and line indicating my flubs, so that my audiographer, Earle Greenberg of Chicago Videoworks, could fix them. Hundreds of files traveled via Dropbox back and forth between Earle and me until I completely filled my Dropbox.

     After three complete read-throughs of Prisoners to be sure there were no errors, Earle submitted the files to my publisher, who then submitted them to ACX, (Audiobook Creation Exchange) for approval and further processing. This processing stage took longer than expected because of the slowdown cause by the pandemic.

     But, finally, finally, finally the audiobook for Prisoners without Bars: A Caregiver’s Tale is born. It can be found on Amazon, Audible, and on iTunes. I hope you will listen to it and I would be tickled pink, if you would write a review for it.

     As an author friend of mine always says, reviews are a book’s report card and they keep the book alive for all to enjoy. Please write a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Goodreads. YEP!  All of them. Pretty Please!

See you soon.
donna – author of Prisoners without Bars: A Caregiver's Tale

     While traveling in Wales many years ago, David and I encountered a most bizarre dining experience. We were at a lovely B&B overlooking the North Sea. (I love the bed and breakfast experience because usually the accommodations are unique and the breakfasts are not to be imagined.) Although this B&B was remarkable and I remember our experience there to be exceptional, I don’t remember the particulars. What I do remember though, was an odd occurrence during breakfast. The couple next to us, I think they were from Denmark or Norway, said not a word to each other during their entire meal. I thought that was strange. Meals are usually social events where diners talk and share stories. But this couple ate in determined silence. I came up with two possible scenarios. Perhaps it was custom to eat in silence or maybe they were in the middle of a tiff. Years later, I can still only imagine.

     But, now I have a new take on why they may have taken their meal is silence because that is what is happening to David and me. And, no, it is not custom, nor are we having an argument. Our silence during meals is health-related, David’s health.

     One of the many after-effects of David’s traumatic brain injury is a swallow disorder and paralysis on the right side of his face. This makes chewing and swallowing food extremely difficult. He must take small bites and concentrate on every chew. Sounds strange, but if he is not completely focused, he will bite his tongue, lip, or side of his mouth, which causes him much pain. It only took us fifteen years to realize that if we eat in silence, he is better able to focus and reduce his erratic chomping. That is our new normal. Yes, even I have learned not talk during meals, and for anyone who knows me, you know that is a hard task. So, at mealtimes in our house, you can hear the sounds of silence and maybe the hum or whirr of the refrigerator.

     I wonder if that could be the reason our breakfast companions ate in silence. We’ll never know.

See you soon.
donna – author of Prisoners without Bars: A Caregiver's Tale

     Turkey day has come and gone. In this year of the pandemic, the run up to Thanksgiving led many to intense decision-making, which likely caused undue stress for folks across the United States. The question, Should I celebrate the holiday in-person with family and friends? is a very personal one. It’s one, I guess, that many folks struggled with this year.

     Thanksgiving is one of most popular U.S. holidays and families look forward to it all year long to reunite, share life-stories, and overindulge in food with loved ones. Pass the turkey, please. For most that means traveling by car over the river and through the woods, by train, or by airplane. More than three million travelers are expected to pass through airport security this holiday. That’s a lot of dedicated and determined people.

     David and I had to make the big decision too. Since we moved to the desert, we have joined my brother, John (aka Jack) and his wife, Carol, each year, for an outdoor celebration of Thanksgiving. We really wanted to go. We haven’t seen them since February, right before the pandemic officially began, and we miss their company. I also wanted to see the other family members who are regulars at our desert celebrations. But, it didn’t take long to decide that we were going to sit out this celebration. Because of the precarious health situation that David’s traumatic brain injury poses, we decided it better to remain home.

     So, at 8:30 a.m. I prepped the turkey, made the stuffing, and popped the bird in the oven at 10 a.m. Dinner was served on the patio at 3:30 p.m. in a balmy 73˚ with all the sides, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce. And, for dessert, pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream, of course. After dinner, David and I relaxed on the patio appreciating this once-a-year feast and each other.

     The aroma of the turkey feast still lingers and so do our memories of a Thanksgiving alone.

     Left-overs are on the meal agenda for the next few days and turkey soup is cooking in the crockpot. If there was no pandemic, I’d invite you all over for dinner. Soup’s on!

See you soon.
donna

     You know this is the first time you have ever been involved in a worldwide pandemic–unless, of, course you are more than one-hundred two years-old. Even then, you wouldn’t remember the pandemic of 1918, called the Spanish Flu, simply because you were an infant. So, essentially, COVID-19, the virus that we are experiencing right now, is something none of us have ever experienced before.

     We are new to this ill-fated phenomenon in our lives. And, I do mean ill-fated. After only eleven months of this virus contaminating our world, it has infected more than 12,304,224 people and killed more than 256,000 people in the United States alone. The Spanish Flu in 1918, which lasted more than two years, from February 1918 until April of 1920, killed about 675,000 Americans. At the rate, we are going and if we don’t find a miracle vaccine, we could easily pass that number.

     But, we have a huge advantage over the folks back in the early 1900s, we have a whole lot more science going on. More, but not enough. There is never enough science research for me.

     Take yourself back to the horse and buggy day of the early 1900s. Take yourself back to no social media, no ZOOM parties and gatherings, no food pick-ups and deliveries, no ways to order needed products, and no ways to safely congregate with friends. Living through the pandemic of 1918 must have been a hundred times harder than living through the coronavirus pandemic today. Yet, it is still hard.

     Many folks from 1918 refused to wear masks to help prevent the virus from spreading. They were called “The Mask Slackers of 1918. They called the masks “…muzzles, germ shields and dirt traps…” Maybe they didn’t have the luxury of laundry detergent at their fingertips as we do. In any case, times have not changed much, we still have mask slackers for the same political-type reasons today.

     I don’t care what the reasons are for wearing or not wearing masks, but please let’s do whatever is necessary to resist this virus. I NEED to go shopping again. (See my blog post of 11/22/20, Shop 'til You Drop!

See you soon.
donna