Happy Scribbler??™s? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  January Newsletter - 2006

The beauty of January is that as of the dawning of the New Year I know I have 360 days to get all the ???things to do??? on my long check-list accomplished and crossed off at a leisurely pace. I??™ve re-organised my desk, set my goals and reluctantly cleared out the article cuttings and stories I??™ve hoarded over the past year that were written by other people I admire, (you know, the interesting pieces you feel you could use??¦with a little adjusting??¦ in an article or story of your own.)

Now I know I must stop talking about the new poetry anthology I??™ve been wishing would just appear exquisitely composed, edited and published, - beautifully bound in an eye-catching front cover, with great reviews about the delightful author plastered all over the back-cover, enticing avid book-lovers to read in awe and rush to purchase every book published by none other than the biggest publisher known. Leaving all book-store shelves carrying my masterpiece empty in an instant!

Depending on how my fans shop, of course, there could be congestion on the internet causing computer screens to hang because of avid readers clamouring to purchase my latest travel E-Book, (professional photo??™s included) on my last visit to some distant land with unpronounceable names of exotic locations that everyone dreams of visiting.

As for the fantasy I??™ve been nursing in the clouded cradle of my subconscious for the past two years and has not even had the chance to be seen in black and white as a draft, let alone book form??¦well, it??™s time to do something about it I guess??¦if only the daily house-work did not take precedence to my elusive modern fairy tale, (which of course would beat the socks off anything J. K. Rowling ever wrote.)

Now I have to admit to a slight addiction which I feel that once revealed and publicly shared, shall somehow desist??¦it is my absolute downfall and causes great time wasting and procrastination, so here goes, I shall let the cat out of the bag??¦I cannot stop myself from internet surfing! The worst part is when I find an interesting site, I sign up and then feel compelled to spend the next morning from 4.30 am going to each and every ???favourite??? site, signing in and
Spending the best part of three hours??¦or more, as a voyeur, absorbing different writers, photographers and artists talents. Suddenly I look at my watch and realise its way past break-fast and I??™m still in my pyjamas, (well actually, it??™s not looking at my watch that sets the alert, it??™s usually a large, grumbling husband that wants to be fed bacon and eggs!)

So how do I make myself refrain from such wicked pleasure? Well, I??™ve made yet another list and wrote alongside each web address what each site could do for me as far as publicity is concerned. Much to my surprise, it slowly dawned upon me that I do not need hundreds of sites to submit my work to. If I concentrate on a good personal web-site where I can direct people to via an URL copied and pasted in my e-mails, newsletters and Blog, I can do away with the surfing addiction and get on with the real job of being creative. (Wow??¦my light-bulb moment, AHAH!) Why didn??™t I figure that out for myself months ago?

Which brings me to my latest venture; I am officially a Blogger now!
http://happy-scribbler.blogspot.com
For those still in ignorance of this vanity, a blogger is someone who keeps an on-line journal or diary. Blogs are web-sites that can be used for just about anything. I shall be posting articles, stories, links and poetry here as I intend to slowly withdraw from Authorsden as sadly I cannot keep up the quarterly membership payments. People who have known me through the Den since September 2002 will know that I was once a gold member with all the privileges and a big photo of myself on my front page. Due to fees being put up by the Brass that own and run this site I have now hit rock-bottom and live on the sidewalks of bronze membership, (with a very little photo of myself)??¦so in ninety days I shall sadly return as a reader and not a member.

But not to despair as you can all visit me on my new site:
http://www.authorszone.com/happy-scribbler
There is a newsletter facility on this site which I??™d love you to take time to sign up to get the ???Happy-Scribbler??™s Newsletter.??? In the mean time I shall transfer all my subscribers on my Authorsden site to Authorszone. (P.S. thanks Tweety for recommending this free site, I am most grateful for your never ending good advice.)

In a past newsletter I recommended people popped in to:
http://www.cafepress.com/susancookjahme
As this is where you will find my anthology of poetry
???African Dust on the Soles of My Feet???
It has been well received and I am proud to say that many people have written to say they enjoyed reading about the animals, people places, flora, and fauna of my continent, Africa.
There is also a newsletter facility on this site where you can sign up for monthly information about my shop.

Last, but not least, I am proud to say that I am now a member of the prestigious South African Artists web site where well known artists from the region sell and display their paintings, photo??™s, graphics, textiles, sculptures and crafts. Please take time out to take a look at my paintings, photos and illustrations:
http://www.southafricanartists.com/home/Sukie
(Don??™t forget to leave a message telling me what you think of my work as I love feed-back!)