Editing an Old Friend - Cupid's Mistake

Almost done proofreading the scanned copy of Cupid's Mistake so that I can republish it as an e-book.

I haven't read it in years, and so I can edit with a good amount of detachment and objectivity. It feels, oddly, as if someone else wrote it, not me.  The good thing is that I believe it's a solid story. The bad thing is that part of me wonders whether I can write as well again after not writing a full-length novel for almost a decade.

I'd like to test the waters by entering some RWA contests, but I think because they won't let previously published authors enter unpublished work unless they've not been published for five years (my last novella--not a full-length novel--was published in 2010), I have to wait a total of 11 years before I can enter an unpublished work in one of those contests.

Yeah, I know, I should just write a new one and put it out there.  But times--and styles--change. I, personally, like my writing style, because the rhythm of it falls well on my inner ear. However, I am not so certain younger, more modern, ears are tuned to such sounds any more, if that makes any sense. As a result, I'd like to test the waters via a contest before I put a book out there.  But, I don't really want to wait more years to test the waters.

That said, it's nice revisiting the Hathaway family in Cupid's Mistake.  The Hathaways are a loving family--a bit eccentric, but all of them kind-hearted.  Even the matchmaking Lady Hathaway--ever ambitious for her children--is there with a hug and a shoulder to cry on should her children need it. There are a lot of dysfunctional families in novels, even in romance novels, and I've written more than a few of them. But the Hathaways are, I think, one of the few who are simply nice, caring people.  And that does make me happy.  It's like visiting old friends, and good-hearted friends at that.  :-)

Walgreens - Punctuation Fail!

Today I went to Walgreens pick up some medicine and buy some other necessities, and what do I see on the wall?  A company poster/advertisement that says "Walgreens can fill your prescription's and text you when they're ready."  What is wrong with this sentence?  If you don't know, you probably work for Walgreen's corporate marketing department.

I can't help noticing these things.  English major = grammar and punctuation police. 

I wonder if companies and other organizations are reducing their budgets by cutting out copy editor and proofreader jobs.  If they are, it shows.

Washington State Department of Transportation - Spelling Fail!

So on Father's Day weekend, John and I to Silverlake so that he can ride the Tour de Blast (and he made it the whole route!).  On the way down, we passed the usual summer road construction, this time on I5 south, and my eagle editor eye spotted the sign just before the construction:

"No Sholder."

Yeah.  I wonder how many people caught that?