When my hearing more or less went away, I stopped doing readings, signings, and panels. But a lot of writers count on them as part of their marketing strategies and/or as a reward for coping with many months of self-imposed isolation while working on each novel.
Just when we thought things might return to normal (whatever that is) the whole COVID mess is turning into a new or continued mess. Mask regulations keep changing. So are rules about gatherings. And, the administration is actively talking about booster shots. Needless to say, my writer friends who “need” to go on the road with each new book are having a lot of hard decisions to make about when/if they can schedule anything.
I haven’t seen my granddaughters for over a year, and still have to keep a trip on hold because the youngest isn’t old enough to be vaccinated. That might change, but who knows when. And for all we know, once she’s vaccinated, travel restrictions might tighten up again. These disruptions continue for many of us, and it’s no picnic–especially if you get it, and some of my friends did.
As far as writers are concerned, I see nothing for it but to use a lot of Skype and Zoom, keep the newsletter exciting and current, and start work on the next novel. Or, get out of your office and take a walk in the woods and (perhaps) read though some of the accounts of how earlier generations coped with the depression, dust bowl, influenza epidemic, and the intrusions of WWI and WWII. How they coped speaks to the resilience of the human spirit and shows us that no matter how badly life is treating the country now, there are ways to survive and come out of the experience without becoming totally bitter.
After all, those of us who write are used to concocting alternative endings to the crises we create for our characters. We need to create happy endings for ourselves and our families from the dark years of 2020 and 2021.
–Malcolm
Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of magical realism, paranormal, and contemporary fantasy novels and stories. “Conjure Woman’s Cat” was the first in his four-part Florida Folk magic series.
Malcolm's Round Table 
Yes, indeed! “We need to create happy endings for ourselves and our families from the dark years of 2020 and 2021.” We also need to make huge changes in our lives RIGHT NOW regarding our consumption of resources…or all sorts of overlappingly catastrophic events (wildfires followed by too much rain followed by mudslides plus an earthquake plus the ongoing challenges of mutating viruses such as COVID-19 plus antibiotic resistant bacteria, etc. etc. etc.) will make Covid-19 look like a walk in the park. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
The pandemic has a way of showing us how much work needs to be done.
Very true. But the first thing governments and businesses and consumers want to do is start up the whole carousel of consumerism again, to ‘sort out’ national economies. One weeps.
Quite.
I haven’t seen my brother since Xmas 2019. Every time we make a tentative plan to get together, infection rates go sky high again.
Thanks Be for writing! Working on things which are only occasionally covid related has kept me sane.
Anyone who has shares in Zoom is sitting on a goldmine. The need for Zoom ain’t going away any time soon. Over here, a whole raft of regular poetry events has started up, run by all sorts of people from libraries to poetry societies, to spoken word event organisers. I ‘go’ to quite a few. They are inexpensive, last an hour (perfect for poetry readings), the guest doesn’t need to leave the safety of their own study – and I can enjoy a large glass of something alcoholic without wondering how I am going to wobble home. So there’s my silver lining for you. Just the one. How we are managing to avoid saving the planet whilst struggling through the pandemic I have no idea, but apparently we are still abusing it just fine 😦
We’re faking it until we figure out what to do–which I have my doubts about. Meanwhile, it never would have occurred to be to buy shares in something called “Zoom.”