January 6, 2022
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'22: A Rimfire Year - Make Every Shot Count
It has been snowing for the last four hours. The parking lot at Tim Horton's shows evidence of being busy by the tire tracks and footprints in the snow. As I look out the window I shiver due to the cold. Sometimes it looks pretty. Sometimes it looks depressing. I'll be out in it soon enough.
The first snowfall of the year should be special. It brings the world to a standstill for those seeking the peace and quiet of a muffled world covered in white. There is still the danger of bad drivers driving junk cars in need of a brake job on ice-covered roads, but in spite of the threat of a fender-bender, there is the promise that all will be well if we calm down enough to enjoy the moment. Slow it down. Take time out to breathe. Let the moment embrace us for a while.
I should be in panic mode, but I'm not. My situation is precarious, as I have been unemployed for a year. My income has been dwindling. I'm behind in rent. And I have no idea how to make hopes and dreams come true.
While in Thailand I wrote three ebooks of poetry that I had hoped would produce a little bit of income over the years. Just a side gig if things go sideways. Not the be-all-end-all plan, but something supplementary when the chips were down. The chips are down and the ebooks haven't sold. I promote them but nothing happens. And that means there is no way to one day publish them as real books. I need sales to bring in the royalty checks, but it isn't happening. There are other ebooks I need to edit and make available. Got to get the current ebooks selling first.
Since returning from overseas I have continued writing poetry. I've been learning about other poetic forms that rarely get discussed. I've attempted writing in some of those forms and found the experience to be fulfilling. They have helped make me a better writer. Soon I will feel comfortable looking for markets for my work. Then I will learn more about my shortcomings as a writer and what I need to do to improve.
I have a design or two for t-shirts to promote 23 Country Music Highway, but that market is unpredictable. It's also costly. I don't have the money to produce the shirts in sufficient quantity, though I think they might sell during First Friday events, and during the July 4 weekend, and Poage's Landing Days here in Ashland, Kentucky. They might even sell in some of the shops here in town.
"If you aim at nothing, you will hit nothing."
I have three targets to aim at this year. I will hit them. I will do what I can to make every shot count in this rimfire year.
You can find my ebooks through www.goodreads.com. The Chiang Mai Sessions, The Bangkok Sessions, and Shadows of Doi Suthep are also available on Amazon.
