A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

I recently considered “going Amish.” Not the way you may be thinking. An agent I know asked me to consider writing a novel with an Amish community as the setting. “Amish sells,” she told me. Why? Apparently, people are living such complicated, crazy lives these days, they look to the Plain people and the simple life depicted in Amish books for escape. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 “But I’m not Amish,” I said. “I’ve visited the Amish community in Holmes County, Ohio. It’s only a few hours from where I live. But my only other experience with the Amish is through a research study I read in graduate school.” “You’re more than qualified,” she assured me. “I can sell anything Amish.” I was not convinced. I had a few ideas for my next book, but “anything Amish” was not among them. Still, I am not one to say no without a bit of thought and research. My mother enjoys Amish stories so I prevailed on her to loan me a few of her books to read. Suffice it to s...

“Granny Nanny in the Business World” I had an interesting week last week. My daughter had to attend a business conference in San Diego. She asked if I would like to go with her to be a Granny Nanny to my four-month-old granddaughter. You bet! Ahh... San Diego The conference hotel overlooked the marina and the ocean. That would be enough. But having a large, comfortable suite was more than I imagined. Baby J was perfection and I truly enjoyed my new, albeit temporary job. So what does this have to do with blogging? I’m getting there. The conference was on the use of qualitative research in marketing. My own research when I was in the field of education was largely qualitative in nature. I get the lingo. On Friday morning, my daughter needed to stay in with the baby for an extra hour and asked if I would to go to one of the breakout sessions to take notes. The one we settled on was on blogging and using social media to promote your business. The pres...