Happy New Year!
As we venture into 2018, I want to thank all of you who have supported me this past year through the bumpy ‘learning curve’ of, how to promote my book. I learned to feel more comfortable talking in front of strangers, preparing better talks, traveling and eating alone and to not feel personally offended when after an hour of speaking about the content of my book, people smile and walk away–not an easy task.
Do I have the energy, the stamina to do this again in 2018? You bet! Hope to see you out there. Let’s have a great year.
3 thoughts on “Happy New Year!”
So good to hear from you, Leslie. Yes, it has been quite a year for you, an exciting year. I see you are doing an OLLI class this semester. Wish I could join but the dates don’t work for me. I am taking a Beginning Spanish class, perhaps I will see you there. Judith
I received a copy of Dearest Minnie in the mail from my good friends Roger and Sid with no advance notice. The subtitle, A Sailor’s Story, immediately caught my attention. Having spent twenty nine years on active duty, both as an enlisted man and a commissioned officer, has left me highly skeptical and hyper-critical when it comes to the military either in print or on the screen. The sole exception being John Wayne movies.
Fifteen minutes into the book I was hooked. I was able to suspend my critical approach and simply enjoy this story of a young man who wanted to see the world. This is the reason so many of us joined the Navy.
The progression of Maurice’s familiarity with Minnie in his correspondence was quite interesting. I kept rooting for him but was afraid he was going to be the victim of an unrequited love, a condition not uncommon to many sailors.
Although he sailed over a hundred years ago, Maurice is very typical of today’s bluejacket. The ships and political climate may be different but the sailor remains pretty much the same. Maurice seems to complain much less than most of us did during the time I was in(1965-1994). An old saw that I often heard is that “a bitching sailor is a happy sailor”. I’m not sure how true this is, but it seems to me that we complained a lot more than Maurice. Constant carping, however, could mean a trip to the Foc’sle with the leading petty officer and a possible bloody nose. Although I think that in today’s kinder, gentler Navy this would only merit a severe tongue lashing.
I was able to read the book in one day and was happily surprised at how much I learned about the pre-WWI Navy and the global politics involved. For this I am extremely grateful. Roger suggested that I should use a magnifying glass during my second reading and concentrate on the postcards. This turned out to be very beneficial. Again, I wish to thank you for an extremely interesting and informative book.
BRAVO ZULU
James W. “Robbie” Robinson CWO4, USN Ret.
Leslie If memory serves we were in contact many years ago re: Australian Postcards issued for the US Fleet visit in 1908. I remember that you were having some difficulty gaining a publisher due to them requiring an estimate of potential sales. I trust my memory on this is correct.
I am glad you have seen it through & had your work published – well done