Beth Urich
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A Novel Release During A Novel Virus Pandemic
Close your eyes and imagine – no Internet, no Google, only dial-up email. There are two generations of individuals who may not remember such a terrifying vacuum. Even if you were 10 years old in 1996, you don’t understand what “dial-up” felt like. We thought it was slow before we had a clue just how… Continue reading
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Editing Your Manuscript
Remember those speakers at writers conferences who said you need to borrow or buy a professional editor to help you with your manuscript? Well, if you haven’t followed their advice, it’s not too late. I’ll confess that I did not use a professional editor to prepare my manuscript for submissions in the 1990s. I did… Continue reading
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Another Writing Career Reboot – Considering the Offer
The emails expressing interest in the first two books of my mystery series raised a number of emotions. First, I was quite surprised by the timing, about five weeks after submission. Second, I was thrilled with their enthusiastic comments indicating that the team had clearly read both manuscripts. Third, I was cautiously optimistic given my… Continue reading
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Another Writing Career Reboot – Renewing the Search for a Publisher
If you’re familiar with my blog postings from 2017 and 2018, you know my writing career has been full of starts, stutters, stops, and restarts over the last three decades. While I’ve learned a lot about writing and the publishing business through conferences and networking, there’s been limited success. I’ve completed four novels—one has been… Continue reading
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Give Harmony a Chance
Does anyone else feel like they woke up one day not long ago and everyone in the USA seemed a bit tense? Maybe it’s because I’m retired and have more time on my hands to notice what’s going on around me. My uniform for my previous day job of 40 plus hours per week included… Continue reading
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My Mother’s Hands
When I was a child everyone said I looked like my daddy and I agreed. As I became an adult I thought I resembled my Aunt Olga, Daddy’s sister, and her older daughter. I’ve even been accused by elders in my father’s family of being someone from the “old country.” Imagine my surprise when I… Continue reading
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Grand Canyon Adventure – End of the Journey
Since December 19, 2016, when Anne brought up the idea of hiking at the Grand Canyon, there was a month or two of research, three monthly attempts to make a reservation at Phantom Ranch, and over 60 training hikes of various lengths and durations culminating in the final (and I must say awesome) success of… Continue reading
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Grand Canyon Adventure – Back to the Top
The full moon-glow competed with the rising sun above the canyon wall as we readied to depart Phantom Ranch. We had enjoyed our stay but were eager to accomplish the rest of our challenge. As promised the weather was great, starting off a little cool, but we’d be shedding our outerwear soon enough. The walk… Continue reading
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Grand Canyon Adventure – Phantom Ranch
You may remember I was sitting on a large rock at the end of my last installment (All Downhill, June 2nd). As I made notes on my cell phone about the day’s “activities” a nice lady named Maryann introduced herself and announced she had come to take me to my friends. She insisted on carrying… Continue reading
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Grand Canyon Adventure – All Downhill
Our trip to one of the World’s Seven Natural Wonders definitely qualifies as an “adventure of a lifetime.” Although geologists debate the issue, the Colorado River is given much credit for “carving” the Grand Canyon over millions of years. That thought alone is staggering when one views the mile-deep canyon. The landscape, texture, and scope… Continue reading
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