Clearly, librarians are important people.

Now it’s time for some respected and beloved librarians to be recognized. Nominations are now being accepted for the third annual I Love My Librarian Award. Up to ten winners will receive $5,000 cash, a plaque, and a $500 travel stipend to go to New York for the awards reception. Librarians in public libraries, school libraries, and college or university libraries can be nominated.

If you know a librarian who deserves a big “thank you,” visit the American Library Association’s Web site by September 20 and nominate him or her.

So click on over, check out my articles, and subscribe to receive e-mail notification when I publish anything new. I promise it will be informative and entertaining.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Honestly, I haven’t gotten my mind around that last bit yet, but somehow I’ll get used to it.

My daily schedule is about to get a whole lot easier, at least for a while. I’m already 100 percent happier than I was a week ago at this time. The creative juices are flowing again, and I’m looking forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead of me. I’m also looking forward to having time to blog more regularly.

In my perfect-world fantasy, I will get up early every morning, meditate and do some qigong, make coffee, work for several hours, run errands, take a walk, have lunch with friends, work in the garden, write something terrific, prepare a delicious meal for my family, maybe watch some TV, and then read a good book until I fall asleep.

Okay, I know that will last about two days (maybe two and a half), but it is a fantasy. In the real world, I will most likely need a part-time job to fill in the looming income gap, and of course there still won’t be enough hours in the day to do everything. I’m gonna give it a damn good try though.

And by the way, if you’ve been thinking of hiring a freelance editor or writer but have put it off for some reason, now is the time to act! I work hard, I do a great job (without taking myself too seriously), and I’m super nice (ask my friends). Best of all, I am totally available after July 1.

I love birds. Some people think I am a little nuts about birds. I go out looking for them, even in bad weather. I spend hours playing with my stamp collection that focuses on birds. I currently have two bird calendars, two bird mobiles hanging from my ceiling, bird books, magazines, pictures, figurines … As I said, some people think I am nuts; I, however, think I have a healthy interest in some truly fascinating creatures.

In pursuit of new bird experiences, this weekend I went to an open house at a place called the Garuda Aviary (www.garudaaviary.org). This is a bird sanctuary located at a Buddhist center near Poolesville, Maryland. They take in captive exotic birds—parrots and the like—that have been abused or neglected.

The birds are beautiful, but they have problems. Many of them pluck their own feathers in response to the boredom and stress of being in captivity. Imagine a macaw with a gorgeous head, tail, and wings, but absolutely no feathers on his breast, belly, or legs. One cockatoo has to wear an E-collar (like the stylish but uncomfortable collar your dog wears after surgery) nearly all the time because she goes beyond plucking her feathers—she tears off bits of her skin.

See, parrots make lousy pets. They are large, loud, and very social. They want to be around others of their own kind. They are remarkably long-lived (living to 80, 90, even 100 years). Imagine having two-year-old who will outlive you and who never grows up. Many of the birds at Garuda Aviary have had four or five owners in as many years, because those owners had no idea what they were getting into when they acquired their new lovely bird.

By now you’re probably wishing I would shut up and go back to editing. You may even know some pet parrots who seem quite happy. But if you’re thinking of getting a pet parrot or cockatoo, please don’t. They’re not meant to live in cages, and the average human isn’t equipped to deal with them. Instead, put up a bird feeder and/or bath in your yard and enjoy the wild birds who will benefit from your generosity.

And now, back to editing …

Like today. I’ve been reading Morag Joss’ Funeral Music. (Quite a fun read so far, featuring world-class cellist Sara Selkirk, who turns amateur detective after finding the body of a museum director who has been murdered in a Roman bath—in Bath, of all places. And how could I pass up an author named “Morag Joss”?) Everything in the book is going along fine, except the dialogue. The dialogue is driving me crazy.

It’s not what the characters say—it’s the quotation marks within which they say it. Double marks inside single marks, with commas outside the double marks. You know,

‘They called it “rambling”, is what she told me.’

Instead of

“They called it ‘rambling,’ is what she told me.” (Not an actual quote from the book.)

The fact that I’m even bothered by this is the most troubling thing about the situation. I don’t understand why these little punctuation marks are upsetting me now. I’ve certainly read enough British books to be able to deal with the basics of the style differences. I usually find the differences interesting, not distracting.

Could this be a sign that my brain is beginning to harden? Is this what I have to look forward to when I finally move into the Old Editors’ Home? Or perhaps my editorial instincts are on overdrive and I just need to lighten up in my leisure reading. Or—and this is absolutely the worst thing I can think of—am I becoming a hardened old editor with such entrenched ideas of “right” and “wrong” that I’m no longer flexible enough to appreciate other possibilities?

Oh, no—anything but that!

Should you have any questions about writing or editing, feel free to email Sarah at editor@sundragonediting.com. She will be happy to help you.