Getting Started.

Apparently these days authors need to have an online presence. So for starters I’m on facebook. Various bookshops have spiels on the net about some of my recent books. And finally I’m going to bite the bullet and start a blog! This is in spite of my amazing adeptness at putting my foot in my mouth (or however one says that when one is writing). Jamie Buckingham claimed, in his column The Last Word, to have offended an extraordinary list of people such as Christians, non-Christians, atheists, religious people, women, men, fat people, thin people, bald people, hairy people – and so on. I suspect that I’ll manage to do the same! I hope that you who read my blogs will take me with a grain or more of salt where necessary and forgive me if I say something that would have been better unsaid. I guess the world would be an ignorant place if brave souls hadn’t had the courage to speak out their convictions. But in these days of political correctness, the expression of truth and genuine convictions appears to have gone a bit smudgy. I’ve called my blog Jeanette’s Jottings, despite a misgiving as to whether I’m actually jotting when I’m typing. Perhaps I am. I’m planning to write posts on Fridays as they seem to be nice flexible days for me. Days to do things like writing posts and seeing friends. Other days I juggle teaching speech and drama, family things, praying and running prayer meetings, doing ‘life’ (shopping, washing, ironing, cleaning, answering the phone and the emails etc) and of course I write – books, short stories, poems – and now a blog. So it’s a fair smorgasbord. It’s hot, often stormy weather here in suburban Brisbane – after a scorchingly hot spring. Whirring, roaring and the shriek of sirens assault my senses from a busy road nearby. I’d much rather live in the country like I used to, but . . . well, to everything there is a season. I’m near family and lots of my friends. And to give this place its due, the landscape is still smudged in places with the mauve mist of jacarandas in spite of the recent storms. Jacarandas are amongst my favourites. I’m planning to buy a laptop in January – and am hoping and praying this old computer will last until then. I’ll miss it. Who would ever have thought I’d say that about a computer? I used to feel physically sick at the thought of learning computer, but one day I woke up and felt, I want to conquer the computer. As I am a writer, it is really a necessity, and to my surprise I enjoy it. Except when it plays up. I’ve kept to very basic skills, hoping that’s all I’ll need – but I must confess a friend, Laetitia (of Loquacious Laetitia’s blog), is helping me get this started! My sister suggested I offer a free book to one of my readers. I’m offering Mirage, a novel based on real life (not my life, actually!). So if you like my blog, leave a comment and your contact details below and your name will go in the draw to be drawn 21st December. Watch this space for the winner!!! My next post will probably be there on Friday and I’ll start with weekly (Friday) posts and probably change to fortnightly when I hit a busier spot. I’ll be keen to hear your feedback. See you in a few days! P.S. I’m open to your suggestions about what things you’d like me to write about – e.g. my books, daily life, travels, people, speech and drama teaching, writing, places I love, prayer (and answers to it) and other spiritual things, etc.