Connie Reeder Nichols's Blog, page 4
December 1, 2015
November 28, 2015
My Crazy Heart
Over the last four decades, I've written hundreds of songs, poems, essays and in the 90s I penned a column and wrote articles for EQ, a music publication. John Denver recorded one of my songs, "Thanks to You", and a collection of some of my poetry, On The Beach , is on Amazon.
In 2008 I earned a Creative Writing MFA from the University of New Orleans, and out of that experience I collated many plays, screenplays and ideas into essays that had been rolling around in my head for years.
BUT, "My Crazy Heart" is my first book of non-fiction, a memoir. Somehow in the fog of surviving the grief of losing my husband to cancer and our home to foreclosure, a vision dream inspired me to write.
The book is not a tell-all; there are some stories I will most likely take to my grave. "My Crazy Heart" is more of a collection of memories, a collection of essays from my muse, my psyche--inspired by the essence of the Goddess standing in the shadows of my heart. Fourteen months after the death of my husband, these are the words I NEEDED to write to help me heal from so much loss. It's almost five years since my husband died and I am, once again, a productive person, happy most days and hopeful for my future.
However, I am not very good at promoting myself and after only several publisher rejections, I gave up. I am no stranger to rejection; remember the hundreds of songs I said I wrote? It just felt like this time, this one time, the process was as important as the writing and no one but me knew how that had happened. The book had to stand on its own or not at all. And, "not at all" is what happened for three years. Still, the project haunted me and so, instead of wasting my energy on pitching and endless editing, I decided to stop and self-publish. So be it!
Incredibly, there are dozens of boutique companies trying to get $$$$ from people like me on the self-publishing road. Well, I don't have that much to spend, so time will tell if I did the right thing by spending $$$ and using the Amazon tools. And even though I am the grammar police for the students in my classroom, I have been through TWELVE drafts with my Amazon editors and I still see errors. Thank goodness, the patient Amazon editors allow unlimited editing. Whatever happens, at least, I tried. I remind myself constantly that many authors did not connect with an audience while alive, like one of my favorites, Emily Dickinson. So be it.
After one week, and $$ spent on advertising, I've sold three books. Even so, I have no regrets. Maybe the people at Goodreads will understand why I must write and read, all the time, regardless of fame or fortune! ;) 
May 17, 2015
May 12, 2015
May 10, 2015
The Family Tale of Anna Jarvis
On Mother’s Day, I‘d like to tell a story about my dad, Glade Reeder, or rather a story he told me while growing up. Dad loved to tell people we were related to Anna Jarvis, the woman credited for establishing Mothers Day in the United States. He didn’t know exactly how, but that was the family […]
May 9, 2015
MOTHER’S DAY
Years have past and still you are gone, Yet in my heart, you linger on. My mind plays tricks: your phone is dead, Mail got lost, your car repossessed. You took a trip, forgot to call. You got amnesia from a fall. That’s not your name engraved on stone. There must be more to you […]
May 5, 2015
February 15, 2015
My Crazy Heart
Given all the grief floating around this planet, another book about “one woman’s journey” may sound like a snooze, but, at least, I’ve had an interesting life with some amazing characters like John Denver, Ginette Paris, Roger Nichols, Joy Monroe McConnell, Paul Rothchild, Donald Fagan, Walter Becker (Steely Dan), Dorotha Stephens etc., and I’m willing […]
October 31, 2014
The Phantastical Gothic Ghost of Horace Walpole
by C. Reeder Horace Walpole (1717-97) wrote a ghost story, but not just any ghost story. The dire events and super-sized shade of Prince Alfonso in The Castle of Otranto spooked the reading public, and catapulted Walpole to literary fame. Otranto was criticized for its thin characters, and outlandish machinations (Clery, Rise 84), but others, […]
