Comments

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  Nancy M. Dickinson October 8, 2011 at 10:59pm

  And I do very much appreciate the condolences, even if I don't acknowledge every one of them.
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  Nancy M. Dickinson October 8, 2011 at 10:58pm

  I've considered putting together a book about it all.  More than anything, I had the hardest time wrapping my head around the "Why?" 

  My husband and I are firmly middle class, our kids are educated and well-employed and we rather shielded them from the harshness of the world.  At the risk of sounding outrageous (and I AM utilizing cliches when I say the following), we don't live in a trailer park, we barely drink, we are both college educated and raised our kids to have pride in themselves and to work towards changing their piece of the world.

  What I learned from it was, evil manages to find you no matter what.

  I approached an editor about a compilation of stories like ours to show it can happen to anyone and they came back with, "This is too horrible.  Not only no, but HELL NO."

  The "Why" is the hardest.  Any other time, you wake up, take a deep breath and move forward.
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  Lana Bortolot October 8, 2011 at 10:56pm

  Hello--I haven't been posting for awhile--combination of long-term travel and deadlines ... but I just stopped by the site and wanted to express condolences to Nancy.
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  Allan Lynch October 8, 2011 at 10:51pm

  Nancy, I too have been dealing with a death, but it was closer to the natural progression of the lifecycle. Murder is beyond my comprehension. I don't know how you deal with it. A diary maybe, and since we're writers, it could be a book to help others who have to suffer such an unfathomable thing.

   

  As for friends, people use the word too loosely. Just being able to match a name with a face isn't friendship. I find I just don't have the energy to deal with my friends. I've cut it down to two. Mostly I want quiet and solitude. And much of what the world cares about doesn't interest me.

   
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  Nancy M. Dickinson October 8, 2011 at 10:45pm

  Thanks, Allan.  People wonder all the time why I don't write like I used to do and it's really kind of hard to work into a conversation.  People really don't expect to hear it...  (The hardest part is the man who killed him STILL hasn't entered a plea, receiving a great deal more justice than he gave a two year old little boy)

  Friends I haven't seen or heard from in months will always start with, "How are you" and it seems rather lame to say, "Oh, not great - my grandson was murdered".  It's kind of a show stopper!

  I would imagine I'll get back to my life eventually.  It's just that right now, I really haven't felt like it.
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  Edie Jarolim October 8, 2011 at 10:43pm

  Nancy, our comments crossed. I'm very sorry to hear about your loss too.
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  Allan Lynch October 8, 2011 at 10:41pm

  Nancy, I am sorry to learn of your grandson's death.
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  Edie Jarolim October 8, 2011 at 10:41pm

  Nancy, like Allan, I think there's money to be made through the internet and establishing your own niche about something you care about is one way to do it. Even though I haven't "monetized" my  blog -- a term I can't stand -- I get enough traffic that people offer to pay me for links; I just got $400 the other day just to link to a shop with products I like anyway. I originally started my blog  about dogs (http://willmydoghateme) to sell a book, but it took on a life of its own and I now have a platform for my next book, on pet travel.
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  Nancy M. Dickinson October 8, 2011 at 10:38pm

  I actually took several months off when my grandson was killed in January.  It's only been the last two months or so I've tried to get back into it.  The AAA I work with accepts submissions in January for an editorial meeting in April or May.  

  I'm kind of branching off the travel writing for something new, finding myself getting somewhat bored with it.  I'll never walk away entirely from travel writing, I just find myself looking for new ways to fill my time.

  However, and this has to be said, I'm married and my husband supports our family very well, which could explain why I'm not as "hungry" as others might be,
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  Allan Lynch October 8, 2011 at 10:20pm

  Nancy, I guess I'm just pushy. I completed two assignments last week and have 11 more to write and I've established relationships with four new titles in the last five months. I've had work throughout the downturn. And the week before last I had to turn an assignment down (it conflicted with one of my steady markets).

   

  I know that most of the world's economies have declined, but there are stil needs for those businesses that survive.

   

  BTW, I used to write a monthly e-column for a trade title. It was basically aggregating information. It was a day's work and they paid $300.