TAXES

I just finished my bowl of Cherios, and then consumed several Special Dark Hershey Miniatures. I don't normally eat chocolate first thing in the morning unless it's a cup of "hot chocolate." But I figure I'm off to the Town Hall to pay my property taxes. They're due February 1. Tomorrow which is a Saturday they have special hours as well for those who pay them just before the deadline.

This is one thing I've always made sure to do considering as an American it's "American to invest in America." And paying our taxes is one way to do this. Especially now in this economic climate where towns are hurting as much as everyone else. I don't want to contribute to the downslide that this country has been in since the real estate crash that pretty much became the catalyst for the demise of Wall Street.

No siree. This country's has got enough troubles without the likes of me contributing to those troubles.

Then again, I come from a "stock" of people who prided ourselves of the fact that we carry our own weight and we don't default on obligations.

Doing so can have long lasting repercussions.

So off I go to the Town Hall, wait in line with check in hand. I will smile at the Town Clerk who will take this check and mark me as a "paid" resident of this small New England town. I won't be put on any "delinquent" list. Or have anyone put a lien onto my house. Of course it mean for the next coming year as I've always done to live within my means. Budget my income. Do without some of the "unnecessary things" that had once been labeled a "definite must."

Belt tightening is in order for must of us.

Then again, I will allow in my budget monies to buy books/ebooks. I figure at least buying these will let me escape from this climate of unease and uncertainty. Heck, we all need a break from what is happening around us.

And where else can anyone find that so readily available than their nearest computer where they can download a book, have it right there at hand and ready to delve into.

Just click on the links below and go to any of my publishers' sites and you'll find more than enough to help you weather the latest storm(s) happening here in the good old USA.

And look for me there either as Marie A. Roy or Collette Thomas. (It will help me pay my property the next time I go to the tax office which will be on July 31, 2009--again just before the deadline:)

Aspen Mountain Press

Forbidden Publications

Noble Romance Publishing

Treble Heart Books

January 2009 A Productive Month

I thought I'd take a moment to assess the start of 2009 in terms of where I am and where I'm going. Mainly I've used this blog to promote my books. Then I thought a blog should be used for more than that. It should be used for letting others know more about moi!

So that's what I'm going to do here. Like who the heck is Marie Roy anyway? What do we know about her besides what she writes. Okay, she got grandkids, and she's a widow, and she writes romance fiction.

And she's a twin!

I have to confess even at my age I'm still trying to figure out who I am and where I'm going. The fact of the matter is throughout my life so far I've worn a few hats; daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother. Also, I've donned the hats of administrative assistant, paralegal, office manager, and of course published writer.

Currently, I've put on the hat of "used book saleslady." And I will soon be doing some database development and managing the books in my basement that is now pretty much filled with boxes of these books.

Life does not get simpler as one heads toward that phase of life when seemingly it is supposed to slow down.

In fact I find myself speeding up on more than several occasions. Yet, I also find that I no longer feel as if I'm heading toward the state of "not doing much" when in fact I'm constantly doing something.

My friends calls me the hamster on its wheel because I keep turning and turning and turning.

And with the way the economy is heading today, I think it is good that we all keep ourselves involved, and maintain our focus on getting this economy going.

I've always been one for supporting my fellow man in terms of helping them be the best that they can be. And I think that is what each of us here in the good old USA should keep our focus on.

God helps those who help themselves. I found that out especially these last six years when I no longer could call hubby to come and fix the toilet, or put up a light fixture, or help me bring in the groceries. I actually spent an afternoon learning just how a toilet "insides" actually work. By doing so I alleviated the necessity for calling in a plumber. I fixed it myself...and the darn thing is still working (knock on wood.)

Also, over these last several weeks I've actually developed some good strong arms through having to heave boxes of books on top of one another as I sort through them. It so much like weightlifting, that each time I heave one on top of the other and stack them at just about my height, I gain more muscle weight. Who needs a gym?

But back to the concept of supporting each other, I feel especially in the publishing industry we need to help to this with each other in terms of our endeavors.

We need to form a strong alliance among ourselves whether we are published via epublishing or traditional publishing. And based on the 700 plus books that I've uploaded to Half.com I can fully say that I support the whole array of publishers. 700 comprises about 40 boxes. And I probably have that many and much more to go through.

I've always been a team player. I've found that in the past it's the team mentality concept that helps each team player achieve their goal(s). It's the team player mentality that unifies and strengthens whatever resolve exist within any community.

And hopefully this team player mentality will help President Obama succeed in making American once again a place with a strong and viable economy where each of its citizens can once again dream and aspire to reaching our/their goals.

Naturally I'm only a very small cog in this wheel of life, but I feel it is all the "cogs" that keep the wheels spinning.

Enough said. I'm going to go back downstairs to continue to categorize my books. The next eight boxes are filled with erotica and I'm going to have a great time going through those I'm sure. I know there are some great books there that I will eventually upload to Half.com. In fact I've mentioned to my ERW (Erotic Romance Workshop Group) they will be the first to see a list that I'm going to also comprise of the books that I'll be putting up there.

So if you like to make a comment here on this recent blog, let us know if January was a "productive" month for you and what you did to make it productive?

Marie Roy
Appetite for Lust just released at Forbidden Publications.
Click here to Order