No clarification yet as to when the cover proof will be ready. I have e-mailed the design team stressing that the cover design must take precedence over the sketches which can be added to the sites any time. I need to order business cards & possibly design bookmarks with my sites on them.  Marketing details are time consuming but necessary. This is where all my business experience with projects comes in.  Creative details: Today I need to clean up the Forrester Journals. I’ve changed the dates some to coincide with Children of Time

I also need to create a general outline of what I want to happen – keeping in mind that key families on Morn from the beginning are going to play key roles. I also need to keep up my presence on the SCIFI blogs. As my son informs me, this is my target audience.

Optimum service is stalling out somewhere between the box on the street and the house. This means my internet is up and down which makes any kind of site construction, entries & e-mail quite problematical. Wall street is having its own woes as the funding failed to pass.  If the financial mess does not get cleared up soon, a lot of people are going to suffer.  Booksurge design team will create sketches for me to use on my website at $225 each. I need to find out if I will own the rights to the sketches.  They cannot give me a target publish date until the cover is designed and a proof has been submitted for my approval.  I have decided to put my web sites somewhere on the back cover as well as one line book review from Kirkus and School Library Journal. I am anxious to see the cover design proof.

I have noticed that the older blog of my author’s journal seems to have vanished. I need to find out where the archive feature is and how to activate and also how to make it accessible for my readers.  I have downloaded some royalty-free photos of space and distant planets which I can use to spruce up both my mornworld site and Forrester journals site. 

Sarah’s dog died last night. We both have been crying all morning. One of the hard things about writing is to keep going when reality intrudes. Reality is always going to intrude with loss, financial challenges, sickness etc. because that’s life. However, the work can’t stop. Today I need to:

·       Work on Forrester Journals

·       E-mail booksurge for target publish date

·       Find out where past blog entries have gone & how to access

I have finally set up the John Forrester site at the URL mornjournals.com  I decided against a straight Johnforrester site due to searchability issues. The expense of running several sites is also definitely a factor.  Besides, I have the mornchronicles site for the gorbul chronicles and anything to do with Nethila (who could tell tales of early Morn colony that have been handed down for generations)

Sarah’s dog, Bubba, may be dying. The surgery did not go well. Sarah is trying to get back uptown from her babysitting job to get to the vet, but she can’t find a cab and it’s raining.

I think John Forrester needs his own website.  After all, he needs an intro, background  and then cut away to his journals. It seems impossible to “nest” pages with the current program I’m on. The question is what to call the site. I need it Morn-searchable.

Morn: johnforrester.com? 

I need to make sure that there is a loose connection to Forrester & the start of the Morn colonization and Children of Time.  Perhaps the Aurora assisted a ship that was foundering in deep space. The clones were astounded that a pregnant woman was in deep hybe and this took on great significance to them. The child that Mary Bennet is pregnant will later be named Anne from whom the Anne in The First Battle of Morn is descended.  I seem to be thinking a lot about my clones on the Aurora.  Unlike clones in existing literature & movies, these clones are very proud of being clones and the culture that they have created. I have had a few flashes of their religion which is Christian-based with shades of their own fundamentalism.  Clones tend to be more telepathic than humans and with each pure clone generation, this telepathy increases. This is a trait that initially the Teachers on Morn will be trying to cultivate. However, they will soon get paranoid as they themselves are not telepathic and will try to breed away from this. Torin’s telepathic abilities are somewhat of a throw-back.

Today’s tasks:

·       Establish John Forrester’s Journals on Morn Chronicles site

·       Work on Forrester Journals.

·       Start outline for sequel to Morn

·       Try to get an idea of pub date for Morn

·       Royalty Agreement? Check with G

The new cover for The First Battle of Morn is underway. I have submitted a description of what I want. It’s very important to get a good sketch of Grizzum as I would like him to appear on all covers. I would like to start the Morn Chronicles website – although not post it.  I was thinking that the Gorbuls have a rich history of myth.  Nethila also might have tales of early colonies. Today:

·       Add entries for Gorbuls, Grizzum, Nethila & Captain Forrester into Morn glossary

·       Contact G at Booksurge re sketches for site

·       Scan welcome letter w signature to PDF & send to D team for inclusion into The First Battle of Morn

·       Work on Captain Forrester’s Journal

·       Set up Captain Forrester’s site.  Morn: Journals of Captain John Forrester

There is panic in the air from the Lehman collapse.  The HR side of me realizes that hundreds of thousands of jobs will be affected if not eliminated entirely. Certainly real estate is going to be hit hard in the Hamptons.  I  have two choices of reaction: join the panic and worry about the very real possibility of losing my home, or not panic and keep working quietly on my Morn project.  In times of trouble, people need fantasy.  Little L, looked up at me fearfully yesterday; her 5^th grade classmates had been swapping information about Lehman brothers and speculating about job losses. L asked me nervously if her parents were going to be OK, or if they were going to get fired. I gave her a hug and reassured her that since neither of them worked for Lehman or Merrill Lynch, they probably would be fine and that they were very smart.  I added that the important thing for her to realize was that whether they were working or not, they would always love her, protect her and provide her with a home.  The world does seem a bit frightening out there.  People need fantasy.

I have temporarily taken over my daughter Sarah’s babysitting job so that she can focus on her audition CD.  I feel this is a tangible way that I can contribute to her performing career.  Of course, her apartment has no internet which makes my own work impossible. However, this is important to Sarah. She needs to be able to focus 100% on her music right now.

Sunday, Labor Day weekend.  I realize that The First Battle of Morn is 178 pages of text plus 2 pages of chapter index plus one page of dedication. For some reason, I thought I was re-printing 162 pages. Will have to contact Booksurge on Tuesday to make additional payment.  Also need to sign royalty statement and fill out questionnaire. Hard time sleeping last night. Ended up writing at 3:30.  The challenge is making all the pieces fit – where everything can be cross referenced on the Web.