Monday, June 05, 2006

Back From Afield

Yes, I know I've been un-blogged for awhile. The short explanation is this: we're having a new pasture put in, and the old one needed to be ripped out.

Sounds simple. But it took over a week to do. Worked outside in unseasonably warm weather, trying not to think about not making my self-imposed deadline for finishing the book. But at least the pasture-ripping-out is done. Now we're just waiting for the wonderful Fence Gods to smile upon us and magically make a new pasture appear.

In the time since I've been incommunicado, several things have happened:

* I finished the next chapter of Dr. Warson's book, and it received his enthusiastic blessing. Only two chapters left to write. With no further fence to tear down, I've allotted one week to each. Which means in two weeks, I should be celebrating.

* Geoff had a very successful booksigning at Malvern Saddlery while at Devon. By all accounts, everyone involved was pleased with the book, with the sales that made the signing a success, and with the information that Geoff was happy to share with those who attended.

* Geoff Teall on Riding Hunters, Jumpers and Equitation broke into the Top 25 Equestrian Sports books on Amazon.com, and into the Top 50 of all Horse Books. Yes, it's a transitory rank. It changes daily, if not hourly. But it's kind of cool to see it creeping up there. (And, as I write this, Amazon.com only has 3 books still in stock... Rah!)

* Jan Krieger, a writer who has attended some of my Writer's Workshops interviewed me, and wrote a nice, front-page-of-the-section feature article in the Herald-Palladium, our local paper, that favorably mentioned the book.

I'd love to post a link to the article, but the H-P fancies itself on a par with the New York Times. To access their archives, one must first pay -- more than one would pay for the actual paper itself. When asked about this practice, one of their head editors rather bluntly explained that the paper was really only interested in making money. Looks like I'll keep my $1.50, and just tell you about it. Tune in tomorrow for more on that front ...