Marilyn's Musings

  When my girls were just toddlers, I spent a good deal of time yanking my hair out and wondering when I would get time to rest. Between playdates, preschool, teaching Sunday school, and entertaining them, it never seemed to end. If I am entirely honest, there were days I resented how much time the girls demanded. Empty nesters kept telling me to cherish these moments with the children, because they are over too soon. I laughed, well, probably snorted at them. What did they know? I had other things I wanted to do, too. What about my writing? What about the chance to socialize with people over the age of 4 every once in a while? When did I get to think about me for a change? My feelings were a bit confusing. I had wanted to be a stay-at-home mom for so long. Why didn’t I enjoy it more? Maybe part of it was because I had worked full-time since I was 18. Now, I finally had a chance to pursue my writing dreams and there were these little rugrats monopolizing all my t...

The Greatest Benefit of Virtual Book Tours by Cheryl C. Malandrinos   I’ve been promoting authors’ books with virtual book tours (VBTs) since 2007. I could share numerous benefits of VBTs: promoting a book from the comfort of your own home, the vast audience they reach, and their longevity (I can type the author’s name and book title from one of my first clients into Google and still see results from her virtual book tour.). I might even discuss two detailed articles I wrote on why VBTs work and how to judge your VBT’s success from my own experience promoting Little Shepherd when it first came out.   But I’m not going to talk about any of that. Why? Because that’s not what I feel is the greatest benefit of virtual book tours.   For me, the greatest benefit of promoting my work and the work of others through virtual books tours has been connecting with readers and other authors. It’s easy to forget the hard-working people behind the blogs; b...

Looking for Me (in this great big family) by Betsy R. Rosenthal What a delightful book.   Though it’s being marketed as a children’s book, this is one any age will enjoy. The story is about the fourth child, a daughter, in a family of twelve children. At times she feels lost and ignored, and sometimes overworked. She is the second mother to some of the little ones and has learned how to accomplish much in a day. This is a good step back in time, a way to let others know how hard it was during the depression era. Despite the hard times, the family shared some magical moments as well as an enormous tragedy. Everything is described as seen through the eyes of Edith, number four.  The family is Jewish and there are many insights into how this little girl felt about her religion and some of the restrictions it put upon her. Some of the short essays or poems are laugh-out-loud funny, while others are poignant and made me teary-eyed. Highly recommended for...