by Keri Rozansky | Mar 26, 2025 | Blog
There’s a song by the band Blondie called “One Way or Another.” As a writer, I have some interesting takes on various song lyrics. If you read through these, you could assume the singer is stalking the subject of the song. When you listen to the song and its catchy beat and tune, it becomes a playful statement about finally starting a romantic relationship with the subject. The saying “one way or another” outside the song usually means a daunting task will get done somehow. Like writing a book – right? I’ll get it done – one way or another.
There’s also a saying, “if it’s not one thing, it’s another!” This one comes with nothing but frustration. I relate this to my writing and self-publishing as I find every new little thing that needs to be done when publishing all on my own. It’s more than just writing and finishing the story:
– Writing. For Midnight Splash, I’ve been writing it on and off since 2011. My professional writing career came first, and my fiction was just a hobby at the time.
– Editing. With the on again-off again writing of Midnight Splash, I ended up doing some editing each time I came back to it, if only because I had to re-read it to get myself back into the story again. When I picked it up seriously last year, it took all my strength to not edit while I wrote. When I wrote “THE END” I had to make a conscious effort to set it aside for a while so I could come back with fresh eyes for editing.
– Beta reading was something I thought I could skip. I’d been working on the story for so long, and refined it each time I came back to it that I thought I could skip this step. Until I decided to try it. These people have helped make Midnight Splash what it is. This was a very “one thing or another” moment for me.
– Making changes is difficult. I thought everything was good to go and I was ready to send it to my editor. But the good advice my beta readers gave showed me there were still changes to be made. I focused on the changes, implementing and adding, and trying to figure out how those changes caused other changes. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another!”
– Editing again is the epitome of “if it’s one thing, it’s another!” Why am I editing yet again?! I thought I was done with this! But this next edit is tightening everything up to the point I can’t see anything that needs to be changed.
– Finally send it to an editor and find out that there’s even more that can be changed! I’m simultaneously looking forward to and dreading a professional edit. While I’ve professionally edited a couple of non-fiction books, fiction editing is so much more difficult. I’ll be glad to have not just fresh, but someone else’s eyes on my manuscript helping me out.
– Get those edits back to apply them. Once I get these, I plan to be as much of a robot as possible. Find, apply, move on. Don’t try to revamp everything around it.
– and on and on – I’m sure there’s so much more that I’ll continue to find out as I move forward in this self-publishing adventure.
Then there’s also: the ‘front’ and ‘back’ matter like a dedication, the information like copyright and ISBN information, and more. These aren’t as daunting as I thought they’d be, but when someone mentioned them during a seminar, I realized that was just information to gloss over and take for granted. I didn’t realize that I was the one who had to include all that information!
When it comes to my son’s last year of high school, “if it’s not one thing, it’s another” applies to things like end-of-the-year fees, filling out information like the name to appear on his diploma, working with his activities schedules, and the big decision: where to go to college (and everything that goes into that!)
When it comes to life, for many, it’s frustrations like car problems, a broken major appliance like an oven or washing machine, or a ‘surprise’ school project your child neglected to tell you about.
If it’s not one thing, it’s another!
What is your best ‘if it’s not one thing, it’s another!’ story? Let’s talk on Facebook!
by Keri Rozansky | Mar 19, 2025 | Blog
Hello everyone! I hear my whole family has done this, so I wanted to try my hand at it, too. My name is Rose Moore, and I’m Turner’s aunt. His father is my brother. That insufferable Pam is not who I would have chosen for him. Our mutual interests start and stop at my brother and nephew, although I’m not too sure she’s interested in either of them anymore.
By now I’m sure you know how Turner’s summer started and how it’s going. I’m scared for him. He’s such a good boy, and so was James, that neither of them deserve what has happened. But, you’re here to learn more about me, right?
Well, Bradley is my older brother. We were close growing up, but Bradley always said our father favored me. He wasn’t mad about it, and as a teenager was actually concerned. He noticed I didn’t have very many friends, and heard it was because people thought I was overly-nice. As an adult, I feel the aftermath of that, and I know I’m a people-pleaser because of it. I can’t help it. But now I’m getting better at reining things in, and being tough when the situation calls for it.
I will always stand up for my brother and nephew. They mean the world to me. When Turner got wrapped up in things earlier in the summer, I wanted to do whatever I could to help. When the opportunity to help keep him safe from people who may hurt him arose, I jumped at the chance. Not only could I help by providing a place to stay, but I could keep my eye on him and also watch for strange goings-on.
When he finally made friends I was so happy! He and his dad were so focused on hiding from the outside world that they neglected to explore the inside world – the neighbors and neighborhood of the area. Many have kids Turner’s age, or are students at JHU, like Turner’s friend Scott. Scott’s a good boy and a great friend for Turner. Turner relaxes a bit around him that he didn’t when he was hiding away in the apartment.
I suppose you’re wondering if I do now, or if I have ever, worked for Bradley and Pamela’s company. That answer is no. While I’m sure if it was Brad’s company I would have had a spot, I wasn’t going to be seen working with or for that insufferable wife of his. I don’t talk about work or my life much, so you’re not going to read much about it either. For those of you who do want to know, I’m a nanny but in between families at the moment. My last family has moved to Europe and I wasn’t willing to make the move with them. They were going to pay for my moving costs and everything, but I couldn’t leave Bradley and Turner.
Yes, I’m looking for another family, but with what’s happened with my own, I hesitate. I want to see them safe and sound before I start caring for another family. Also, the detective and Turner’s lawyer told me that anyone who may get dragged into the fold could be in danger. I don’t want a family’s association with me to get them in trouble.
So for now, I’m working from home as an online personal assistant. I won’t say who, as I don’t want to drag others into this mess. You can read more about me on The Glass Creek Chronicles, and in the book that’s coming out about the case.
Bye for now!
by Keri Rozansky | Mar 17, 2025 | Blog
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!
Rather than go into a deep dive of the history of the day, here are some fun facts:
1) St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually on March 17th, the day of St. Patrick’s death in 461 AD to Roman parents. He was English, not Irish.
2) St. Patrick was born in 385 AD in a place believed to be Banna Venta Berniae, a town in Roman Britain, but his exact place of birth is uncertain.
3) St. Patrick’s Day commemorates the arrival of Christianity to Ireland in 432 AD.
4) St. Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders at the age of 16 and tended sheep for them before escaping to become a priest.
5) St. Patrick used a Shamrock to teach pagans about the Holy Trinity. The shamrock is the official flower of Ireland and associated with St. Patrick.
6) The Irish have observed the religious holiday of St. Patrick’s Day for over 1,000 years.
7) The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in Waterford in the Republic of Ireland in 1903. The first U.S. St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated in Boston in 1737. Over 100 St. Patrick’s Day parades are held across the U.S. annually.
8) Almost 12% of Americans claim Irish ancestry, and more people of Irish ancestry live in the U.S. than Ireland.
9) The first New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in 1762 and is the oldest civilian parade and largest in the U.S. The New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade includes over 150,000 participants and over 3 million spectators along the 1.5-mile parade route. The parade takes mover 5 hours to complete. The shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade is in Arkansas, and is only 98 feet.
10) More than 1 million people take part in St. Patrick’s Day Festival (March 15-17) in Dublin every year.
11) Corned beef & cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal, but the meal is typically an English dish, not Irish.
12) From 1903-1970, St. Patrick’s Day was a religious holiday in Ireland and most pubs were closed. It was then reclassified as a national holiday and drinking has now become a strong tradition associated with the day.
13) Over 450 churches in the U.S. are named for St. Patrick, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
14) St. Patrick’s Day is not celebrated on March 17 when the day falls during Holy Week. This has happened in 1940 and 2008. In 1940 it was celebrated on April 3 and in 2008 it was celebrated on March 15. The next Holy Week occurrence will be in 2160.
15) Finding a four-leaf clover on St. Patrick’s Day is considered lucky. There is only a one in 10,000 chance of finding a four-leaf clover at any time.
Do you know anyone with a birthday on St. Patrick’s Day? How do you celebrate the day? Let’s talk on Facebook!
by Keri Rozansky | Mar 12, 2025 | Blog
I’m still learning this whole self-publishing (and self-disciplining) thing when it comes to my writing. Sometimes laziness gets in the way, and sometimes life itself gets in the way. I thought with my final edit before passing things along to beta readers would be the final edit before sending it to my editor. FALSE. On so many levels! My beta readers gave me excellent feedback, and I made a list of the things that were mentioned most and did a bit of a rewrite to include those suggestions. But now it means I’m editing again! Yes, again! With the next book I’ll definitely have my house in order, with all the things I’ve learned along the way this time around.
I hate working against firm dates, as it’s not flexible for the emergencies of life, or when you just want to relax on a week’s vacation in a warm spot away from the frozen tundra that is Michigan in the winter.
So I beg of you to bear with me as I push my publication date, yet again, to sometime in Q2 of 2025.
My beta readers are special people. They saw plot holes and loose ends I’ve overlooked or felt like they didn’t need a definitive answer. If the story in my brain didn’t think it was too important and was just a distraction technique, I didn’t think to follow through with a conclusion. Until the beta readers said they needed a resolution. Resolution provided.
This extra work also added extra words. So I’m going through and trying to cut some of it out without damaging the integrity of the story. I’ve already been told my work is extra long for a potential category I may list it under, so I’m also working to get it closer to that word count as well.
But that’s what editors are for right? Even if I edit this to the best of my ability, my editor is going to find some things that make no sense to have in at all, thus cutting hundreds to possibly thousands of words.
Once I get that advise back, it will be back to editing. I’ll hand it back for a proofread and polish, and once that’s done, Midnight Splash will hit the market!
There are more tantalizing tidbits coming your way in the coming weeks and months, too, so keep an eye on the blog and my Facebook page for announcements!
Is there anything you’ve done you thought you had completed, only to find out there is a step or two you’ve missed? How did you go back and fix things, or did you push forward to completion and then go back to fix it? What kept you motivated to finish? Let’s talk on Facebook!
by Keri Rozansky | Mar 5, 2025 | Blog
As I talked about last week, this year is my son’s senior year and is full of “lasts.” One of these lasts is coming up. Starting with the spring show of his freshman year, my son has been part of his school’s theater program. This will be his seventh and final show – it could have been the eighth, but he wasn’t able to participate in the fall show. He’s been on stage for some amount of time in at least three of those shows so far. The other four, including the one coming up later this week, he has kept himself hidden in a backstage role.
I love that he’s been part of the program. I enjoyed my high school theater experience and it is full of memories I will never forget. I firmly believe that belonging in the theater program for him meant belonging overall. When we moved from Arizona, he didn’t have any friends. Even his cousin lives a little over an hour away. It was up to my son to make friends on his own. Without a base of friends from his old school, things started out a little rocky. By the end of the year he had made two very good friends. One departed for another school, while the other is still a good friend after all this time.
My son worked his way ‘up the ladder’ if you want to call it that. Or rather, up the stairs. The shows where he had worked backstage up until this year he’s been part of the stage crew that sets and resets props and scenery. This year, he’s been promoted up the stairs (of the theater seating area) to the sound booth above. He’s responsible for sound and music cues, as well as turning the overhead and body mics on at the right moment. When he told us about this promotion at the end of last year, I had only considered it in relation to the two theater productions in fall and in spring. But it extends far beyond that, to running sound for choir and band or orchestra concerts, too.
When we went to the visit day at his chosen college a couple weeks ago, although he’ll be studying architecture, the theater school would love to have him, too. He can work in an on-stage or off-stage capacity, and I hope he takes advantage of it when he can.
This week, tomorrow actually, starts his last show of high school, but hopefully not his last.
Were you a part of your school’s theater program? Were you an athlete? Part of another club or organization? Let’s talk high school memories on Facebook!
