On Age and Aging

I have been feeling very melancholy lately. I was talking to my husband tonight about the way we used to turn heads when we dressed up and went out for the evening. Picture a curvy, blue-eyed blonde and her escort with burnished brown hair, bedroom eyes, luscious lips and a military physique. True romance novel figures. :) I was saying that it was too bad that our children were too young to remember us looking like that. They have seen pictures but it isn't the same. I guess I just wanted to revisit my youth. I am not sure what brought this on. Children probably don't want to think of their parents in this light either. Yucky stuff they used to say. I loved the yucky stuff...still do.

Isn't it strange that although I am 66 I still feel 18 in my head, in spite of the fact that I am aware that I cannot do the things that age group can. My daughter and I had this conversation just the other night and she pointed out that she wouldn't be born if I was only 18. I find it really difficult to think of myself as old as I really am. I can't imagine that my husband is that age either so I have a tendency to expect him to act like he is a young man and do work that he should not be doing.

I guess there must come a time when you feel and act your age. I don't know. I have been fortunate that for the past twenty years or so people have always said I looked much younger than I am. That has been quite a compliment and the reverse from when I was 18 or so. Then everyone thought I was older than my age. I would think any woman would be happy to hear these things. It used to "make my day". :)

Edward Henry Bickersteth, Bishop of Exeter (1825-1906) said of Age:

"Our years are like the shadows
The sunny hills that lie,
Or grasses in the meadows
That blossom but to die;
A sleep, a dream, a story
By strangers quickly told
An unremaining glory
Of things that soon are old."

That pretty well says it all, doesn't it?

Right in Front of You

Here is a book written by my friend Jennifer Talty. I hope you like it. Reading the excerpt will make you want to buy it. I am really proud of Jennifer. Go and buy the book.
About Right In Front Of You:

Restless and bored, NYS Trooper Jared Blake accepts a transfer from his current position in Lake George. Jared lives on the edge and his present post just isn't cutting the mustard. Just when he thinks his life is as it should be, his long time friend is threatened by an unknown source. Jared has exactly two weeks to find out who is behind these threats. And in two weeks, he will lose his heart forever.

Ryan O'Connor has the world at her fingertips. She's strong, feisty and has everything she's ever wanted, except the right man. Jared represents everything Ryan doesn't want. He's controlling, overbearing and now he's moving. Having had a crush on him for years, Ryan decides to seduce Jared. What harm can it do? But when Ryan's life is on the line, she realizes Jared might not be perfect, but he's the perfect man for her.

Editing

Editing is the process of preparing language, images, or sound for presentation through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications--source Wikipedia

Editing is also the source of hair loss, lost sleep, lost relationships and a lot of lost words. That is, if the editing is of your own work in progress. I have been trying very hard to clean up or edit the book I wrote during NaNo, the one of which I was so proud. It seems there are a few problems. Did I say a few? To start with the language is too stilted. That may be due to the fact that I was looking for the required number of words so of course contractions, which are in everyday language, weren't de rigeur. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it. It may also be due to the fact that at one time I taught English as a Second Language and it was fairly formal.

On re-reading the manuscript I discovered that I only had maybe two POVs for the hero while the women in the piece had many more. Some would say that was a good thing. Fixing that will also give me more wordage which could be good.

I decided that I needed to check the grammar too as I had a problem with subject and verb agreement in a couple of places. Mere oversights of course. I used the grammar feature on the computer until I got so frustrated that I decided to check it myself as I go along. Too many times the computer told me to change do to does whcn do was the obvious and correct choice. That is just one example. The computer was wrong more than it was right in this case. I don't know why.

The real problem here is that I don't really know what I am doing. I am trying to tighten up the piece because I want to be able to pitch it in New Jersey. Before that happens I need to special order some titanium to be inserted into my spine to give me the backbone I need to approach an editor or agent. Even though I like this work I don't know if I have the courage to try and sell it. What is even scarier is that I will have to ask for an interview appointment when I register this week. Oh help!