I may have been dreaming about writing this or it was the first thing on my mind when I woke up. Over the years ‘the first thing on my mind’ when I wake up has changed from time to time. Dare I say from day to day. Yet here I am at 5:30 AM writing it down and if you’re reading it, I will have shared it in some fashion, after my first few sips of coffee of course.
When I wrote You Used To Live In My House I did most of the writing during the early morning hours, often starting before 5 AM. I don’t know that the book came from my dreams. As renowned author Mark Victor Hansen would say, it was ‘a story I had to get out’. You know how it is when ya gotta go, you just gotta go. Something like that. What I had to get out will surface somewhere here today or at some other time. *The first dream I recall was to replace Ken Boyer as the Cardinals third baseman. That didn’t work out. The next dream, as I recall, was to become a radio DJ. Thanks primarily to Ray Otis, Chuck Norman and Don Bentley, that dream did work out.
Coffee and the other things men typically think about when and/or as we awaken, I’ve been thinking about this phenomenon called Facebook. It’s not uncommon for song lyrics to be on my mind when I wake up. That would probably give some insight to my dreams if I cared to know what they are/were. I don’t usually recall them; here today…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7giKyprr5s
How did you come to Facebook? I didn’t know what my friend Courtney Krenz meant when he invited me to write on his “Wall”. I think that was about six years ago, when I published You Used To Live In My House because his initial message was a request that I write on his wall and tell him where to buy it. So, what did I do? I contacted him the old fashioned way. I called him. I would be more likely to reach him today if I called him because he’s rarely“on Facebook.” I will be happy to post information to let you know where you can purchase a copy. The wall is long gone, so it will be posted on my new Facebook page, R. Perry Coons.
I recall when my daughter Kelly Blood asked me about Facebook. She later said she probably wouldn’t ‘do Facebook’ because it takes so much time. My son Dave Harrison asked me about it around the same time. He knew that I had been promoting my book on My Space. His wife Jamie wrote the html for me to use there. I recall a lot of what you say about things too. I wrote most of You Used To Live In My House from my memory, using an on line virtual calendar and old Franklin Planner journals to confirm dates and places. Kelly was the first of my ‘kids’ to comment on the book. She said two things actually. The first was “I finished reading your novel.” (Which it is not. I am working on one.) The other was “I think Louisa should be nominated for sainthood for all the shit you put her through.” Actually, early on I had asked Chris Coons to edit for me. After a while he declined because he’s a part of it and thus, too close to be objective. He, Kelly and their brothers Chris & Dave each wrote something for the book, offering their individual perspectives of the relationship journey I’d written about. Placing at the end of my story, I labeled it AfterWords. Chris Coons is also on Facebook and writes a blog called http://heycomebackhey.blogspot.com/. Chris Harrison doesn’t usually post on Facebook, saying he’s a Facebook stalker. I wish he’d use the term observer. Two of our five grandchildren are among my Facebook Friends. The three who aren’t range in ages (almost) seven, four and two. Will it be Facebook for them, or the next big thing?
You and I, along with a few hundred other people I know, plus billions I do not know, are on Facebook; some more actively than others. My current Facebook Friends count is around 500. Some are there every day and some recall that they have a Facebook account because of an ad or a friend tells you what he or she saw on Facebook. I recall saying something about Facebook’s longevity to a friend; that it would grow until the next big thing comes along. He said ‘there won’t be a next big thing.’ I believe there will always be a next big thing. We may or may not recognize until it eclipses our current big thing. Did you see Facebook on the horizon or when you first saw it, was it the size of the boulder chasing Indiana Jones through a tunnel? A few short years ago virtually all advertising included a “www.” at the bottom, since replaced by “Like Us on Facebook” or the Facebook and Twitter logos. Here’s what I think is an interesting article on the subject: http://www.briansolis.com/2013/01/facebook-can-it-keep-growing/
If you’re still with me you’ve picked up on my promotion of my book, You Used To Live In My House. I hope my accountant reads this. She’s threatened to stack my unsold copies on my side of the bed. We do promote on Facebook. We promote ourselves, our family milestones and adventures, what we believe, and don’t believe, and so much more.
People have asked how I could write such a personal book and what does my family think of it. Regarding the latter, they’re pretty much okay with it or over it by now. I wrote what I wrote because I believe that many others face some of the challenges we’ve faced on our journey. Through them we notonly keep going, we keep growing. It may help someone fend off the feeling that they’re in a situation that no one can relate to, or help them work through.
You could also ask what would cause an apparently full grown man (like it or not, my growth spurt is over), to walk out into the middle of the street at ‘still dark thirty’ on Christmas morning to take a picture of his house…okay Louisa Coons’ house, and the new snow, then post it on Facebook as a Christmas greeting. The same guy didn’t sign or send even one paper or e-card card to you. Has Facebook become more personal than a printed, prewritten card or is it the immediacy of the application?
Now, about where you can purchase a copy of You Used To Live In My House. There’s a link here. Just $15.99 plus shipping (& tax in Colorado). You can use Pay Pal for a safe transaction, also resulting in a signed copy. It is available at Amazon.com, paperback or Kindle, BN.com/Nook Books and paperback via Googlebooks. Those copies won’t be signed and other than Kindle and Nook, they are priced higher than my price.
SURPRISE! I am ready for more coffee, so I’ll wrap up this episode.
Welcome new my new Facebook Page. I hope you’ll “Like” it and come back for more.
Happy trails…
