Survivor Stories, a Request From Cindy Charlton

Cindy Charlton

Cindy Charlton is working on a non-ficiton book that includes stories of survivors. "It goes hand in hand with my professional speaking career," she said.  "So I have finally made the 'call to action' for survivor stories."

 

Check out her new blog at cindycharltonspeaks.com.  It has all the details, including her own survivor's story. Please take a look.

 

If you know of anyone who has survived a traumatic incident whose story would be interesting or inspiring to others, let them know about this opportunity.

 

 

Cindy may be reached through her website or at cindycharlsky@gmail.com. If you plan to send an e-mail, please include SURVIVOR STORY in the subject bar.  

 

"I have already written parts of this book, and am hoping to have a publishable book by the end of the year," Cindy said. 

Cindy  is a frequent contributor to Happenstance, life happens. She is a motivational and inspirational speaker as well as an accomplished writer.

Happenstance, life happens in Las Vegas, NM

I'm only three days late posting that the March Happenstance, life happens issue is out. You can read it right here or go to the web magazine at www.happenstancelifehappens.com. Have a GREAT day.

Open publication - Free publishing - More spring

Happenstance for March

This is what the March issue looks like but you can't access it until March 7! There are great articles from previous contributors and a new feature from Connie Mack. Her mind works ninety miles an hour and she has a lifetime of accumulated wisdom to share in prose and poetry form.

There's a great article about line dancing that looks at the healthy benefits of an activity that is just plain fun! Denise McElroy is the instructor. Hilda Wales sent in a beautiful thoughtful poem about spring. Her submission is one among several featured in Spring into Being: Poetry.

Look for the new issue on Monday. There is much, Much, MUCH more in it.

On a different note, I'm working like mad on the website. My grateful thanks to Intuit who has created a Mac compatible version of their website software. It is making my life so much easier! Not easy, mind you, easier.


PDF Books for Sale

Tiger Lilly and Someone's in the Kitchen are both available in PDF format for $9.50 (p tx) each. If you want a CD version add $4 for shipping and handling (unless you plan to drop by the office to pick up your CD). E-mail fsharon@msn.com and let me know which version you want and I'll give you the exact price. Mail your check to Happenstance, PO Box 187, Las Vegas, NM 87701.

March Contributors:

Kathy Allen
Nancy Colalillo
Pamela G. Daves
Robert Gallegos
Connie Mack
Maggie Romigh
Kayt Peck
Niki Sebastian
Hilda Wales
Moi (Me)

Have a happy...

Business on the net

Uncle Tom's Cabin, sold on E Bay

I did it! I sold something on E Bay! Well, I guess before I get too excited I should clarify that I sold an item for $3.13 that was probably worth ten times that. I paid $1.09 more for shipping than I collected from the buyer. I had to package it, which cost me something. Bottom line, I probably made zilch on the transaction, but I learned a lot of lessons. Here are a few if you're thinking about selling on line with E Bay.

1. Put a minimum on your item instead of starting at the .99 opening bid price.
2. Do as much research as you can to find out what similar items sell.
3. Be sure you get correct weight when you set the cost of shipping.
4. Don't be disappointed when you don't sell your item for the price you wanted. It's a bit of crap shoot when you come right down to it.
5. Take good photos of the item.
6. Be 100 percent honest about the condition of the item.
7. Promote the sale by using Twitter and Facebook and other social networking sites to let people know you've posted a new item.
8. Be prepared for the shipping side of the transaction.
9. Do use the printable shipping label. It makes sending your item so much easier and you don't have to stand in line at the Post Office. (You can also ship FedEx or UPS).
10. Make sure your first posting is of an item that you don't care how much you get for it. Treat it as learning experience.

There are options for how to get paid but the Paypal options seems the easiest. The company is well set up to handle transactions in a secure manner.

So, I didn't make anything on my first sale, but the experience encourages me to try again. We have a ton of old books that—if I can figure out the selling strategy—may bring in a buck or two, and in this economy who can't use an extra dollar in the till?

We also have a bunch of old record albums and 78s from the '20s and '30s (and a slug more that are more recent—twenty years old instead of fifty or sixty. They may be more trouble than their worth, but right now they're taking up space and probably worth a shot on E Bay.

I also have my novels, The Ballad of Bawdy McClure and Future Imperfect, and the daily readings book, Not Just Another Day. It's worth a try. Who knows, I may actually find a following among the 18 million-plus buyers registered with E Bay.

Hey, I'm nothing if not an optimist!

So, E Bay as a selling option. I think it's works if you're willing to work it.

Windy City

Flags at attention

Mark Ronchetti of KRQE is my favorite weather caster. Apart from the fact he has such enthusiasm for his job, he actually acknowledges Las Vegas, New Mexico exists in the real world. We are not Brigadoon. We do not disappear into the mist except when something bad happens. We're here all the time. Thanks, Mr. Ronchetti, for noticing us. He makes note of how windy it can be in our little corner of the world when it isn't all that windy anywhere else. He'll have a lot to talk about tonight, if he chooses to do so. It is a windy, windy day.

Fortunately the winds only last for a time, and then they're gone, whistling up some other town's streets, flinging Wal-Mart bags into trees and plastering them against fences. Farewell to you, Mr. Wind, and I'll be glad to see the back of you.

So, I don't sell advertising and a subscription isn't required to receive Happenstance, however I will accept sponsorships. If you think Happenstance is worth keeping around, your support will be welcomed. You can send your check to Happenstance c/o PO Box 187, Las Vegas, NM 87701. There will soon be a Paypal icon on the website for your convenience. From the website can also purchase Kathy Allen's recipe book, Someone's in the Kitchen, on CD, and a digital PDF copy of Tiger Lilly, a contemporary novel by moi. The novel is being serialized in Happenstance, but if you can't wait to get the rest of the story, it is for sale in digital format only. The novel begins in the October 2010 issue.

I have Tiger Lilly out there in the netherworld looking for an agent or a publisher. So far no luck.

In the March 7 issue of Happenstance look for a two-page spread featuring poetry, some about spring and some about life. Connie Mack comes on board as a contributing writer and if you know Connie you know to expect something a little different. There's more MUCH more to look forward to.

So much for every day!

My very best intentions went awry in the recent days. I haven't blogged, which I said I was going to do EVERY DAY. So what is the point of blogging every day anyway? Good question. One friend said she didn't have time to read other people's personal lives every day. Got that, really, I do. I would hope this blog—the Happenstance blog—would be more, much more than that.

For a heartbeat of time I wondered if it couldn't be an ongoing calendar of events around town, but realized that's already being done rather effectively by the local newspaper, radio stations, chamber of commerce and Karyl Lyne's e-mail blasts.

February 7, 2011

In reality this blog is about Happenstance, life happens, but how much can you say about a magazine that comes out digitally once a month? Talk about it too much and you might as well do the zine in the blog, which believe me, I've considered. It would be cheaper, because, yes, despite there being no print costs, there is a fee for maintaining a website plus the zine publishing site. The blog is free.

Hmmm, where was I going with this. Blogging. Right. To blog or not to blog, that is the question (forgive me Mr. Shakespeare).

So, my purpose in the blog is to draw attention to Happenstance and build readership. With that in mind I'm going to highlight articles through the month as a reminder of what readers missed in the current issue, and give hints about what to expect in the upcoming issue.

I might from time to time sneak in current events.

I'm also looking for submissions: essays, memoirs, poetry, fiction and non-fiction, how to articles, photo journalism, cartoons and illustrations. For submission guidelines e-mail happenstance@happenstancelifehappens.com. Unfortunately right now I can't pay writers, but if it's publishing credit you're looking for this is a way to get it done. I am selective so do ask for the guidelines.

About the February issue. Did you read the article on human trafficking? It is a story most of us would rather ignore, but in it you will find out about an local agency developing a program to identify and provide aide to victims of this horrifying practice. To access the article go to the Happenstance website home page, and click on the Hidden in Plain Sight link under Inside This Issue.

Cindy Charlton

I really loved Cindy Charlton's story about finding romance at a time in her life when it wasn't even on her radar. Check it out.

If you haven't made time to read the last Happenstance don't forget another one will be out in two weeks, on March 7.

More about what to look for in tomorrow's blog... maybe.

Scammed! Hacked! Grrrr...!

It's happened again. My e-mail list was snagged! I hate this. I was having a perfectly wonderful day when I opened my hotmail account to discover I had a slug of e-mails. During the week that's pretty common; on the weekend, not so much. These were all notifications that my "mail would be sent later" as my sending limit had been reached! I couldn't even e-mail everyone and say, "Don't Open That!" because, well, my sending limit had been reached because some slug was using my account to send his junk e-mails.

I did the next best thing and put out an alert on facebook, but really, people don't check their facebook page that often, so when will they see that message among all the other messages posted?

Arrrrggghhh!

I've changed my password, but that doesn't mean it won't happen again.

The Internet is an interesting foray into a world one truly does not understand. You try to protect yourself, but in the end you want to make life easy so you end up keeping the same password or creating easy-peasy passwords you won't forget. That's why changing your password regularly is important, something you should probably do every month or so. Too inconvenient? How would you like to find out you are the author of an ad you had nothing to do with? What really frosts my cookies is that now folks will be leery of anything they get from me for a while.

I guess I'll catalogue this under, "That's life," and roll with it, but it sure does bug me!

Smile, it takes the edge off life's little surprises.