Wheel of Fortune

I took a photo of the Wheel of Fortune Tarot card against my gargoyle who is reading a book, held up in his taloned hands, Came out fine. But because it's in the computer from the camera, it comes up as a file instead of a picture. Sigh. So you'll just have to imagine the Wheel Of Fortune Card.

Have you ever organized a project with more than several others involved? While this can be profitable for all involved, think again if you’ll have to do most of the work. Not because the others aren’t willing to help, but because you have this fanatic need to have everything work out right. If you’re not picky this way—go ahead and farm out everything that needs to be done. But if you have a unreasonable need for everything to be just right—don’t do this! Put your head under cold running water until the very notion of it is frozen out.

I know this about myself, but in a mood of “being helpful” I offered to coordinate not one but two possible series. Since one of these is probably going to be published by Champagne Books, that’s the one I’ll discuss.

I belong to an online group of writers called the Grande Dames because we’re all females of a certain age. We successfully sold two anthologies about older women romances—-no, none of them were cougars. As most of us know by now, anthologies don’t sell as well as series, so, though we had a theme for another anthology where a single Tarot card impacted the lives of our characters, we hesitated. Then I got the bright idea of converting to a series instead.

From idea to working things out came quickly. Though determined to let everyone involved do their own thing, before I knew it I’d offered to look at the synopses as they were finished. In effect, sort of editing them. These published writers are my friends and I do trust them, but I’m a Capricorn. Can’t do anything to change my birth date. Actually, I’ve had very little editing to do, other than reminding about the theme, so the synopses clearly show the card’s impact. Which, of course, helped my own synopsis. And my story, Lady Luck. I also discovered all our stories are delightfully different, which I figure is a plus. “In The Cards” promises to be a good series.

So why am I complaining? Because I swore I’d never coordinate anything again and I broke my promise to myself not once, but twice. Why do we do that? Because we’re born interferers? I don’t like to think I am, but...

I now have a sign up in my writing room that says, in bright red, “Do NOT volunteer to coordinate anything ever again!”

But my Tarot Card for the series is the Wheel of Fortune, which turns so randomly I can’t be sure of keeping my mouth shut the next time I see the chance.

The gargoyle you didn't get to see just growled a message for y'all, "Have a spooky Halloween--or else."