Pure Chance

It used to bug me when I was playing Monopoly to land on Chance or Community Chest because it seemed totally unrealistic to suddenly receive $100 from the bank or some unknown benefactor. After yesterday, I may have to re-examine that perception.

A few months ago, I got a letter asking me if I would be willing to have one of my blog entries published in a collection. At first, I worried it was some kind of “con” and was hesitant to reply, but finally did so, saying I would be happy to be included.

Well, yesterday I received my check for $100 from Pearson, a part of Penguin, so I guess it wasn’t a con after all, and I can now officially claim to be a “writer,” though I still won’t claim to be a “poet.”

Realistically, of course, I’ll probably spend more than $100 purchasing copies of the book for grandchildren when it’s published, so my net gain will be a minus. It’s still nice to know that someone actually thinks something I’ve written is worth publishing. I’m assuming I’ll receive an email when the book is actually published, and I’ll pass that information on to prove I’m not hallucinating here.

Though I’ve considered adding ads to help defray the costs of keeping this site running, I never dreamed that someone would happen along and give me a $100 for doing what I love to do.

12 thoughts on “Pure Chance”

  1. Idiot! If you never dreamed it, how can I congratulate you on getting paid for your writing? Well, congratulations, anyway. File under: things out of left field?

  2. Oh. I meant to say “congratulate you for achieving your dreams when you never dreamed it.” God, old age is making me construct more and more faulty sentences!

  3. Congratulations Loren! I’ll look forward to learning more when the book is published. (And I believe that quite a few of us have already decided that you are indeed a poet.)

  4. Many congratulations! I look forward to hearing more about the book, and which of your many excellent posts made it in. (And I agree with Jonathon).

  5. Well, the Christmas entry that you liked, and consequently I ended up liking, as well, isn’t the one that made it, Jonathon, though I’m thinking that entries like that might make a great anthology.

    If I ever proposed a book, it might well be one that talked about people’s very different memories and perceptions of what Christmas has meant to their lives.

  6. Which entry is it then, hm? And when is the book coming out? And what is it called?

    Please. You can’t let us know something like that and then be so coy with the answers. ; )

    But again, to echo the above comments, congratulations! It’s about time.

  7. I really don’t have most of the details on the book so far, including when it comes out.

    But the entry was an introduction to Old Man and the Sea where I talked about how my dad took us fishing all the time on Puget Sound.

Comments are closed.