shakespearemom

So, two things happened on one day. Would you like the good news or the bad news? 

I’ll start with the bad: 

I’d applied for a college teaching job here in Seattle, at the college where I currently work. And I received this response: 

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for applying for this position at ________. The hiring committee has finished its initial screening. We regret to inform you that you were not selected for an interview. The job application process can be time consuming and we appreciate you taking time to apply for this position. We wish you well in your future endeavors, and hope that you will consider applying for other positions at __________. 

Yup, not even an interview. Not even a reference check. 

I could be resentful. I’m not. I could be pissed. Not even sort of. God was kind to me, for I was prevented from working for a place that didn’t want me and wouldn’t appreciate me. Besides, I also received this in my e-mail inbox, on the same day. It’s one of two reviews of my second novel, which I posted on the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest website. The contest set up two “experts” to read it, and one said:

“Mariah’s Ark” is juvenile fiction targeting commonly shared teen problems: inferiority, low self-esteem concerns, sibling rivalry, and school performance. 

Each chapter is well-written, albeit in a colloquial country form, with deliberate use of bad grammar to make the Oklahoma farm setting realistic. The story is cohesive and flows smoothly. Mariah is the youngest of three sisters, suffering low self-esteem, thinking of herself as “nothing” and that no one else expects “nothing” from her. She hates to speak, and opts instead to ignore people or shrug her shoulders. The problem developed after an embarrassing episode when, in trying to outshine her older braggadocio sister, she misused a word. Constantly compared in school to her older sisters, Mariah rebels against her teachers’ expectations and shuns her classmates. 

The family is not involved in Mariah’s problems. Her parents share a secret, not revealed in the excerpt. Neither is the meaning of the title. The secret involves the barn where her father has been pre-occupied day and night since before her birth. No one is allowed inside the barn, but it is clear he is building something and both parents are afraid that the religious community will object to it. Her sisters, Sarah and Rachel, one married, the other a boy chaser, vie with one another for superiority, mostly ignoring Mariah. 

The author is a gifted writer. For example: 

Grasshoppers, butterflies, beetles, and other helpless  

creatures fell in, and even from where I was  

sitting, I could see them begin their death  

march, around and around the inside wall of  

the jars, slower and slower, as the fumes  

got to them. 

The story is captivating. What is the secret? How does it impact Mariah and the family? Does Mariah overcome her problems? Many teens will enjoy this gem.

Ah, to have one’s writing called “captivating.” You see, it just doesn’t get much better than that. 

So, I don’t get one job I applied for. Who cares? I’m printing off the two reviews of my book, since both were very good, and I’m going to paste them up on the walls of my writing room (when I get it) along with all my rejection letters. 

My writing room is going to look fantastic. 

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