The "Fix" Newsletter - News You Can't Use + A Kindle Book Giveaway!
July 19, 2020
Greetings Fellow Bibliophiles!
We made it more than halfway through 2020! I hope you're all hanging in there and feeling healthy. I am happy to be back with you for more news you can't use for your Monday morning. I also have some exciting giveaway news so hang in there until the end.
And let's get to the Lightning Round of Updates . . . away we go!
1. In the "I've always wanted to learn that . . ." Department
A funny thing happened during life under lockdown, besides spending way too much time on Facebook and Instagram.
I started to see very specific ads in my social media feeds for online personal enrichment classes, for example, art classes, watercolor, pencil, and digital.
And do you think I clicked on the "Learn More" button? Oh, you bet I did.
You know what happened once I clicked the "Learn More" button? There were more ads in my social media feeds. Lots more.
And these classes were on sale, they were ALL ON SALE. Learn watercolor for $9.90. Nine dollars and ninety cents. Could you resist that? Could anyone? Of course, I'm still artistically paralyzed to pick up a pencil or a brush.
But someday I might.
And the course has lifetime access. Lifetime. For nine dollars and ninety cents.
Soon, it was an addiction. More ads. Different ads. More "Learn More" buttons. I clicked on them. I had to.
I mean, who knew that from the comfort of my own home I could become a 200 hour, certified, yoga instructor (NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! LEARN AT YOUR OWN PACE! ALL SKILL LEVELS WELCOME!), while I become a Juris Doctor (NO BAR EXAM NECESSARY!), AND receive a degree in Interior Design (I'm thinking of having a puce period - not mauve, mind you, puce, there's a difference).
But the capo di tutti classe, if you will, is The Great Courses. Do you know about this? They send you thick, oversized, catalogues by mail. You flip the pages and read all of the different course offerings in Literature, History, Languages, Music, Science, and MORE! And while your eyes glaze over in fascination and you mutter things like "Oh, the History of the Franco-Russian Alliance, that's interesting" you snap out of it just as you're reaching for your credit card. It's hypnotic. Seriously.
About a month into the lockdown, I made the weekly pilgrimage to the post office and brought home the catalogue. A few days later I found my mother perusing the glossy pages. The conversation went something like this:
MOM: Oh look at this. They have a complete course for learning Spanish. I'd like that. Wouldn't you like that?
ME: I have the complete course for learning French. It's still sitting in the bookcase.
MOM: We can do it together. And look. Learn piano. Wouldn't that be nice. We have the keyboard in the house. You should do this. You're home.
ME: I'm home working twelve hours a day.
MOM: When you're taking a break.
ME: The ironing board and two laundry baskets are stored in front of the keyboard.
MOM: We'll move them. And look, everything is on sale.
Did we buy courses? Of course we did. Have we used them? Don't be ridiculous. But we do own them. So we have lifetime access, n'est ce pas?
2. Off The Bookshelf
I had taken out quite a few of Donald E. Westlake's Dortmunder novels right before everything shut down. I finished what I had, Why Me?, Jimmy The Kid, and Nobody's Perfect. Now, I've switched it up and tried something completely different, Where'd You Go Bernadette, by Maria Semple. So far, I'm really enjoying it. I love the character of Bee, and I am very curious to know the answer to the title. The story is written in an engaging manner and the clever use of the email format gives the reader the opportunity to get everyone's point of you. I'll keep you posted.
Got a book recommendation? Drop me a line and let me know. I'm always looking to add to my TBR list.
BTW, Daniel Silva's latest book, The Order, came out this month. As you know, I have this weird habit of waiting and reading each year's new release during the Christmas break when I'm off from the day job and I can relax and enjoy it. But it's getting harder to wait. We'll see . . .
3. Work in Progress News and . . . a Giveaway
Work on books 4,5, and 6, The Good Criminal, Shell Game, and Requiem are moving along. Every time I write a scene, it seems to open up new questions and the need for more scenes. Not sure how I feel about that because I'm at the stage where I just want to be able to gather up all the journal books, take a picture of them and post it saying, Done! But little by litte, getting there.
Now to the giveaway. For the rest of July, I'm running a giveaway for new and current newsletter subscribers.
Every new subscriber between now and the end of July will receive a Kindle mobi of The Fixer: The Naked Man. So, please tell your family and friends to sign up and receive a free e-book (and as always, I make sure I'm not spammy).
For current subscribers, as a thank you for sticking with me, I will be randomly selecting 12 subscribers to receive a Kindle mobi copy of the entire series to date, Books 1-3, one lucky subscriber each day until the end of the month.
Wishing you all peace and good health. I'll catch up with you again.
All my best,
Jill
BTW: the ironing board is still stored in front of the keyboard. I thought you'd want to know. :)