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I miss you, and I have been editing my posts, in order to make them readable(less obtuse) @Cynique Like this one.

I am requesting assistance to become an active participant in AALBC. Since paying my membership I am still listed as a guest. Also, I've been reaching out to purchase some advertising space with no response. I know that this is a great undertaking by Mr. Johnson and one that I am excited about being a part. Please contact me!! Author of Freedom: The Next Plantation??? Regards Sandra Snowden wingspancc@yahoo.com

Beautiful!!! Look at her Yall! I know a few others that had by-pass surgery and now, I do wonder if they've had similar experiences. Me too! I sure do miss you!

Good afternoon, Everybody. Thank you all for taking the time to read what I wrote about my weird experiences and then giving me your feed back, which i found interesting and thought provoking. Before i return to this subject, let me assure you that seizing this opportunity to talk about myself on the assumption that you really give a damn about what's going on in my life is not my intent. I am simply an old lady rambling, the way old ladies tend to do and, in the course of further reviewing my peculiar experiences, i've narrowed down what i believe was the time-line of their origin. In 2008, I began experiencing dizzy spells and after consulting with a doctor and undergoing some tests, I was advised to have a heart by-pass operation because my arteries were clogged and my brain was not getting enough oxygen; hence the dizzy spells. It was during my recuperation from this operation, that I believe these psychic phenomena began to occur. Since i was widowed in 2006, i was living alone, and had gradually begun to shut myself off from the rest of the house, eventually turning what was my husband's den into a sanctuary. That's where I was introduced to the seductive comfort of a recliner. Having always been a night owl, the "wee small hours of the morning" began to find me curled up in this den, a spectator to the supernatural. When i moved in with my daughter, this sanctuary was replicated in the room I occupy at her house. 😮 By-pass surgery requires the patient being very closely-monitored while under aesthesia and this includes being hooked up to machines doing the work of your heart and your brain. Which is to say, i think my brain took on a life of its own while the cardiologist was replacing the clogged arteries of my heart, and the hallucinations I began to experience are the result of this. (It's possible that there are studies out there revealing that what i experience is not so rare among people who have undergone similar surgeries.) Another of my suspicions is that there are parallel universes and that i shift between them enabled by my re-wired brain. Who knows??? Whatever is going on, is something I have learned to live with... When i ventured out last night after a rain storm, looking up at the full moon in the cleared-up sky, i spotted Venus. It was back in its summer solstice position, twinkling at me... 💫 @Troy: I totally relate to your explanation about "nobody knowing nothing". What we call the "universe" can't be reduced to or defined in words. and can only be relegated to the "WOO" realm where the answer to every question exists, just waiting to be discerned, needing only to be channeled into human consciousness. As far as Aliens and UFOs are concerned, I have an open mind, and still am not sure I don't share DNA with beings who evolved from life forms that were transported to Earth via asteroids and comets. 👽 @Del: Lately, clocks and calendars have come to have little meaning to me because my life is now pretty much one day just merging into another, with the sun and the moon being my only guide lines, and I wouldn't dispute those who say time doesn't exist. Therefore, i can't answer your specific questions about what dates and what hours these odd things happened to me but, yes, when the tingling sensation overtakes me it does travel up my spine and spread out. I also found your references to creative brainstorms being preceded by experiences akin to LSD trips very interesting. i've heard that before. So, i am kinda hoping i will have a great revelation soon! 😌 @pioneer: If the Universe is preparing me for the hereafter, it sure is giving me a long trial period since this craziness has been going on for over 10 years.😴 @Chevdov: Thanks for your vote of confidence! 😉 I'm done. See ya!

Hey Del, I should've known you'd be interested in hearing about my weird paranormal experiences! We always were kinda on the same wave length. So, i will share some of them with you because YOU will possibly not think i am crazy. What i would initially say about these surreal episodes is that they are what i imagine it would be like to take LSD or maybe magic mushrooms because they are, for want of a better word, "psychedelic". I have also considered that they could be side-effects of the blood pressure medication i take or - signs of early dementia, considering my advanced age. Whatever. These "post-midnight-witching-hour" interludes have been going on for about 10 years. In fact, I have mentioned them before back when my alter ego Cynique was a regular contributor to this board. But they have increased with time and fallen into a kind of pattern which i suspect might be tied in with the phases of the moon. Anyhow, the most unsettling ones are those where i see huddled shadowy dark figures in my peripheral vision when i am stretched out, relaxing on my recliner, which has become my permanent replacement for a bed because its cushiony features and adjustable positions enhance my comfort and easily induce sleep. Yes, my recliner has become my best friend and that's a story unto itself.. (Some times when i do go out and socialize with my family or the few living friends i have left, the thing that gets me through a hectic or boring gathering is the thought that my recliner is waiting to welcome me into the relief of its arms when i return home!} But, I digress. As i was saying, the shadowy figures i see out of the corner of my eye disappear when i turn to gaze directly at them, seeming to be an example of some kind of quantum theory phenomenon. These dark figures are sinister but on other occasions there are colorful animated activities going on involving people or animals or objects, all of which vanish when when i turn to check them out head on. These "hallucinations" are usually accompanied by the sound of what can be compared to birds singing. Other times i shift into a dimension where all the objects in my bedroom are vibrating as i view them with something akin to x-ray vision! For instance: looking at the photographs on top of my TV can really be scary because images are jumping out at me from their frames, appearing to be more like skulls than faces. Then, there's the world that exists behind my eyelids when i close them and instead of blank blackness, i am surrounded by an entirely different vivid environment, sometimes a beautiful garden or a lively crowd scene. Unfamiliar people also appear before me and when i reach out to touch them, they disappear. Then. there are the phantom smells, usually of food, and the recurring dreams about dead family members and friends or ones where i am always trying to find my way out of a large factory building with no exit. Frequently someone seems to be grabbing my hand or shaking my feet while I'm dozing. Lastly there's the grand finale when the recliner jolts slightly and the next thing i know a tingling sensation is creeping through out my body from my toes to my neck almost as if this mysterious recliner has morphed into a lover\incubus. What i have described here is not constant but brief sporadic incidents that happen to me on a monthly basis. More often there are nights within the walls of my bedroom when everything is perfectly normal, allowing me to watch TV or scroll through my Android smart phone (and argue with conspiracy theory nut cases or "like" other peoples' comments and memes on Face Book or watch YouTube videos...and occasionally check out this site. One would think that i would be grateful to have so many fascinating occurrences going on in my sheltered little world. But i prefer solitude and tranquility and i am weary of this out-of-sync bizarre world, feeling as though i've out-lived my time here. It's like Humanity's chickens are coming home to roost and the final result will be an implosion that will be a prelude to the end of Life as we know it. Speaking of which, i am curious as to why when i go out to gaze at the night sky, there are no stars visible anymore. Do you see any in Australia? Also my cat and my dog seem uncharacteristically drawn to me, wanting to rub up against my legs and mew and whimper and make eye contact with me. Strange. Well, ol buddy, you asked for it. And you got it! Thanks for letting me unload all of this. Verbalizing my abstract experiences has provided me with a certain degree of perspective. I'd be interested in your feedback or that of anybody else who has an explanation for my surreal experiences, other than the conclusion that i am insane. 🤪

Every book is different, but I thought it might be helpful to you, my fellow writers and independent publishers, to come on this journey with me. I feel as if I am perpetually falling behind schedule in doing what’s needed to get The Culinary Art Portfolio of Josephine E. Jones into the hands of readers who will be uplifted by it. THE BOOK Since here at aalbc.com you have been surrounded by advertisements, a description, and a review about the book, I won’t take too much time talking about it. But here is a summary in one place. The Culinary Art Portfolio of Josephine E. Jones– where art and food intersect. Neither a cookbook nor a how-to-book , the book is a portfolio, with ready-to-frame prints, of the culinary art created by Josephine E. Jones with photography by the late John Turner. Opposite each photograph is text, which includes the ingredients, the process used, and a story about my mother’s culinary art. My illustrator, Natalie Marino, gets the credit for suggesting that the photographic pages be perforated, so they could be framed. The text pages on the left hand side remain even after the photos on the right hand side have been removed. This results in periodic blank pages, but they are there by design. THE PROMOTION SCHEDULE First, I researched the promotion schedule by reviewing archived articles from ibpa independent, the Independent Book Publishers Association magazine that comes as part of membership, researching online, and reviewing the IBPA webinars I took that covered the subject. I usually attend them in person so I can ask questions, but all webinars are recorded. IBPA offers monthly hour-long webinars for $19 each if ordered singly and 50% off if ordered annually. I order annually. There were 9 month, 6 month, and 3 month deadlines. CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS--HA Nine months in advance, I researched and wrote to two well-known people in the subject area of the book. I already had two friends lined up to write the other two endorsements. One was a culinary historian and the other was a professional cook whose radio cooking show-- with the original host--our son and I had listened to for years. In fact, it was our son who had first recommended the program to me when he was in grade school. I genuinely enjoyed reading the culinary historian’s books. And I had a fine time listening to the show with the new-to-me host of my favorite cooking show, as well as researching the host online. Neither person responded to my painstakingly-written concise emails. This highly-touted practice is a waste of time. Writers should stop doing this unless they know someone who knows someone who knows someone. My guess is that in a traditional publishing situation, the agent or editor has a contact who is a friend of the well-known person. That well-known person then writes the endorsement as a favor to the friend of the agent or editor, not because s/he knows the unknown writer. I don’t blame the well-known person. S/he is inundated with requests from people s/he does not know asking for endorsements. However, when I wrote the late Maya Angelou years ago for an endorsement for a novel I was writing, I did receive a response. Her assistant sent me a note politely declining, explaining that Ms. Angelou had too much to do. The tone of the note sounded regretful, not haughty. Now it is true, a few years before, I had bumped into the late Maya Angelou in Charleston, S.C. when she was somewhat lost, a situation which accidentally graced me with her presence. But I doubt if she remembered me. I just think she was more considerate than most people. NETGALLEY REVIEW PROGRAM Moving on to the six month deadline. I still needed two more endorsements, but now it was time to consider an IBPA review program I knew nothing about. I researched NetGalley. The program allows you to send your digital galleys to be reviewed by librarians, reviewers, and book buyers. With the IBPA discount, I paid $400 for six months on the site. Since my book has three main potential audiences: food lovers, art lovers, and black history lovers, I listed the book in those three categories. IBPA administers it, so you need to email them if you need anything changed or to request reports, but they are quite efficient. No more than a day or two elapsed between a request and completion. The monthly reports give details about the reviewers: emails and affiliations. Early on--with information from these reports--I contacted two reviewers who had given the book highly positive reviews. I asked them for permission to use review excerpts on the Praise page. They both agreed. I now had my two missing endorsements. I didn’t need any quotes on the back cover, because I was using a photo on the back. Altogether I received 23 reviews, most of them favorable. Several of the reviewers had their own websites or were also sending the reviews to Good Reads. One reviewer even showcased the cover and her review on her cooking blog. The last time I checked, last night, there were 11 reviews on Good Reads. I still have lots of work to do with these reviews now that the program has ended. Sending the reviews to libraries and potential readers will get the word out. Lessons learned: I should have scheduled NetGalley for three months before the book’s original publication date–May 20– and three months after. I scheduled for December 2 to June 2. AALBC.COM PROMOTION Just by accident, I stumbled onto the Books Coming Out Soon section. I was delighted to find out that it was free. As soon as I had a cover image, I sent it along with my codes that give the data about the book and a description. Here at aalbc.com, I made a better decision about scheduling. I scheduled the ads from May through July. Troy advised me to move the requested date for the book review a little later to give the reviewer time to read the book and write the review. It worked out just right. The aalbc.com review link will go to my email list with a request for friends and family to send it to people they think would be interested. IBPA MEDIA KIT PROGRAM I started the three month deadline a little late. In February, I signed up for the Media Kit Program, which is a digital press kit. It includes a cover photo, a description, the story behind the book, an author bio, and an author photo. Once I completed the kit, my materials were sent out in March. I used this program for my first book, An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones. As a result of that Media Kit mailing, I was interviewed for the online edition of Black Enterprise, which led to an interview with a journalist writing a book about Black women in corporate America. That journalist recommended me for a discussion on the NPR affiliate in Boston. The magazine interview , the journalist’s book interview, and the radio segment all resulted in book sales. In the Media Kit Program, you can choose which categories of online newspapers, blogs, and online magazines to send the kit. My choices: Women, African American, Art, and Food. I received 10 review requests. So far, I have had one interview for an Art blog, which will be posted soon. BOOK LAUNCH - SPRINGFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY ONLINE - MAY 20 - 7:30 - 8:40 I had a fine book launch with wonderful sister and brotherfriends from several decades of my life, as well as a couple of people I didn’t know. With the technical and creative assistance of my life partner, I presented a slide show of the pictures in the book, which took about 10 minutes. The rest of the hour was spent answering insightful questions from the audience and the librarian. At the end of the hour, I offered bonus materials to anyone who ordered that night. People who had pre ordered or were “makers” (developmental editor, copy editor, illustrator, volunteer publicist friend, copyright advisor) also received bonus material. The librarian kept the online room open an extra ten minutes so everyone could order their books. A malfunctioning printing press delayed the publication until June 4. But now, a little over a week later, nearly all the pre orders have been sent out. BUDGET I am $1,000 over my $5,000 budget, which includes the print run, but most of the spending is behind me. I still have to place ads in the Black newspapers and decide which awards programs to enter. Awards programs are expensive, but I can put aside money monthly to cover the costs. The radio programs I am considering cost nothing and are excellent for selling books. While working on this book, I have appreciated all the people who have given me discounts on their services or volunteered their services because they believed in the book. It has been an uplifting experience. NOW THE WORK BEGINS Even though states are opening up, COVID-19 is not completely over. I don’t feel comfortable indoors with large crowds even though I am fully vaccinated. So, I will figure out how to promote the book during this transitional period. My fellow writers and independent publishers, I hope even some of this has been helpful.