Richard S. Wheeler's Blog, page 12
September 15, 2014
Long Wait
The pubdate for my vaudeville novel, Anything Goes, is December, 2015. I completed it last March, ahead of the May due date. It used to be that books were published nine or ten months after acceptance, but that has stretched out more and more. It makes little economic sense to me to keep capital, advanced on the book, idle for so long. But publishing is more and more mysterious these days.
September 13, 2014
Things Undone
One project that my wife, Sue, didn't complete before she died in August was a documentary about Montana's acerbic radical, the late Elsie Fox. A few years ago Sue, and Margot Kidder, and cameraman Rob Massee, traveled to Miles City to record a series of interviews with Fox, intended for PBS down the line.
It never got further. A few days ago, Margot contacted me, wondering about the tapes, whether they were among Sue's possessions, and I was able to track them down. They are safe and available for anyone wanting to tackle the narrative. Maybe that would be a good project for me. I can't read much any more, but I can watch tapes and maybe form a coherent story of Fox's life and beliefs and struggles.
It never got further. A few days ago, Margot contacted me, wondering about the tapes, whether they were among Sue's possessions, and I was able to track them down. They are safe and available for anyone wanting to tackle the narrative. Maybe that would be a good project for me. I can't read much any more, but I can watch tapes and maybe form a coherent story of Fox's life and beliefs and struggles.
September 8, 2014
Off Topic
I have illicitly written of my own illness and the death of my wife here, on the thin ground that we are immersed in literary life. But I must stop that now and stick to Goodreads intent. This is a place to promote and sell and evaluate books. I am living quietly, missing my daily conversations with my wife, sitting quietly with no words in me. I am too burdened with pain to say anything or write. My old cat is ill, kept going with steroid shots, an intestinal lymphoma robbing her of life. Maybe 2014 will be her death time too. Then I will be alone. But I keep on. A friend lent me the poems of Theodore Roethke, and they are powerful.
September 3, 2014
Flood of Love
I've received a flood of condolences, hugs, heartening words, and help from friends and acquaintances.
I was too ill to attend the celebration of Sue's life at the university, or the funeral in Billings, but some of it was taped and I am looking forward to seeing what I could not get to.
There is one more event; I am hosting a gathering here in Livingston, for those who wish to say goodbye to Sue, Thursday at the Elks Club from four to six. Sue's been unable to come here much since multiple diseases overtook her, and not many people here knew her well, but there will still be a large gathering who remember her and her literary contributions.
I was too ill to attend the celebration of Sue's life at the university, or the funeral in Billings, but some of it was taped and I am looking forward to seeing what I could not get to.
There is one more event; I am hosting a gathering here in Livingston, for those who wish to say goodbye to Sue, Thursday at the Elks Club from four to six. Sue's been unable to come here much since multiple diseases overtook her, and not many people here knew her well, but there will still be a large gathering who remember her and her literary contributions.
August 30, 2014
No Insights
I've sat for much of today with Sue's ashes in my lap in a hardwood box. I tried to draw something from it, but there was nothing. I thought of the authors Sue helped in various ways, and who flooded to the memorial service to thank her. I thought of the gold ring on my finger, and wonder if it meant anything different now. But I have no revelations to share. I thought of my best friend and lover, but she was ash in the box. Even so, I was very, very glad to have that box tight against me.
August 29, 2014
Process
Yesterday great tribute was paid to Sue on her campus, and I wish I could have attended. Much was said of her contributions to literature. A tape of it all was made and will be sent to me.
Today is her funeral mass, and her soul will be given to whoever or whatever fills the great beyond. I wish I could be there. I am agnostic, and don't know with any certainty what awaits Sue, but her church will honor her good heart and send her on her way. The ashes will come back to me this evening, and I will hold them close.
Last eve, friends gathered at our home, food in hand, and we had a wake, all of them saying goodbye to Sue. I am fortunate in my friends.
Now I will lie quietly, listening to the ritual in some far place, the cadences of the mass for my wife. My yellow roses are lying beside her ashes as the expression of the greatest love I have ever known.
Today is her funeral mass, and her soul will be given to whoever or whatever fills the great beyond. I wish I could be there. I am agnostic, and don't know with any certainty what awaits Sue, but her church will honor her good heart and send her on her way. The ashes will come back to me this evening, and I will hold them close.
Last eve, friends gathered at our home, food in hand, and we had a wake, all of them saying goodbye to Sue. I am fortunate in my friends.
Now I will lie quietly, listening to the ritual in some far place, the cadences of the mass for my wife. My yellow roses are lying beside her ashes as the expression of the greatest love I have ever known.
August 26, 2014
Sue Hart, RIP
Sue's children came for me about three Monday morning, and when I got to the nursing home, Sue was gone. I took her hand and thanked her for the best years of my life, and left her there for the mortuary people.
There is a fine story about her in the Billings Gazette, titled Sue Hart, if you would care to read about my dearly loved wife.
There is a fine story about her in the Billings Gazette, titled Sue Hart, if you would care to read about my dearly loved wife.
August 22, 2014
Hospice
On the advice of our nursing home nurse, and doctor, we are putting my wife, Sue Hart, into a hospice mode. She is not doing well.
We tried bringing her here last night, to her own bed, but it wrought no miracles. And I only hurt my broken shoulder trying to lift her into a wheelchair.
We tried bringing her here last night, to her own bed, but it wrought no miracles. And I only hurt my broken shoulder trying to lift her into a wheelchair.
August 19, 2014
Broken
Pain in my broken shoulder steady 8 0r 9; meds don't help much. I've now got a regular caregiver, not a family member, and she is helpful; took me to drugstore and grocery, and is pumping vitamins, especially D, into me. I should know Thursday whether the orthopedist thinks surgery will be needed. I am surrounded by loving friends, who call and visit, but the hardest part of pain and debility is the loneliness. There is something isolating about pain; it separates me from all other mortals.
August 17, 2014
Gatekeepers
I read much these days criticizing gatekeepers, by which is meant the traditional publishers whose selectivity is now the cause of resentment.
The argument goes that anything should be published, and this is beneficial to consumers, and Amazon is the paragon of pro-consumer marketing, especially because of price.
But being of service to consumers involves a lot more than price. It also involves protecting consumers from junk, and that is what publishers have done for generations. I am fairly confident, when I buy a book from a distinguished publisher, that I will be treated to a worthwhile reading experience. Once in a while such publishers make mistakes and publish bad books, but what is remarkable is the quality that readers can and do count on generation after generation.
In fact, consumers of literature well know that publishers do a larger service by weeding out lousy literature and that this culling is more important than price. That is where Amazon fails. It does not help consumers of literature. In fact, the Amazon model invites grief.
In the end, the traditional publishing model will thrive, and attract readers who want some guarantee of quality, while the Amazon model will fail. The swamps of literature will eventually devour the Amazon model because price is less valuable than the services provided by traditional publishers, including selection, proofreading, editing, book design, publicity, and prestige.
The argument goes that anything should be published, and this is beneficial to consumers, and Amazon is the paragon of pro-consumer marketing, especially because of price.
But being of service to consumers involves a lot more than price. It also involves protecting consumers from junk, and that is what publishers have done for generations. I am fairly confident, when I buy a book from a distinguished publisher, that I will be treated to a worthwhile reading experience. Once in a while such publishers make mistakes and publish bad books, but what is remarkable is the quality that readers can and do count on generation after generation.
In fact, consumers of literature well know that publishers do a larger service by weeding out lousy literature and that this culling is more important than price. That is where Amazon fails. It does not help consumers of literature. In fact, the Amazon model invites grief.
In the end, the traditional publishing model will thrive, and attract readers who want some guarantee of quality, while the Amazon model will fail. The swamps of literature will eventually devour the Amazon model because price is less valuable than the services provided by traditional publishers, including selection, proofreading, editing, book design, publicity, and prestige.
