Time to Try Again

ABC is bringing a new sitcom into the lineup April 3rd - How to Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life). The main character, Polly, comes back to live with her parents bringing her daughter along.

I need to get copies of my book "The Crowded Nest Syndrome" to the producers and see if they won't use it in one of their scripts! My book is an Erma Bombeck like experience about living with returning adult children. It would be perfect for the show.

All I can do is try, eh? Autographed copies with cover letters being very professional and respectful, eh?

Okay, that's my goal this weekend - to find names and addresses and mail out x-amount of copies of CNS and try to drum up some attention for my title.

They Stole My Idea

A nightmare for most beginning writers, they stress over sharing their synopsis or manuscript with authors or would-be publishers because they believe their work is THE one to be a best seller and made into a box-office draw. Someone might steal their idea. While every writer should feel passionate about their storyline, the truth is there may be dozens or hundreds of manuscripts based on similar characters or circumstances as yours.

Coming out this month is the new Jennifer Aniston movie "The Switch" based on a woman having artifical insemination (AI) to conceive a baby. My romantic comedy "Changes in Attitude" is all about a woman's decision to have AI - but did I panic that somewhere while shopping my manuscript around, someone pilfered the idea? Heavens no. Women have been using AI for decades and since the 70's women have been yelling about their individuality and how a man is as necessary as bicycle to a fish.

Would I like my book made into a major motion picture? You betcha. Can there be another romantic comedy made about artificial insemination? You bet. As an author you believe in your work and market with the attitude that some day it'll happen to you. Though I always saw Julia Roberts playing the protagonist in my book! Sorry, Jen.

Summers not over - grab a copy of "Changes in Attitude" and enjoy a good read.

Latest Novel - New Partnership

Olympia, WA - As many of you know my resume includes not only author and speaker, but publisher and ghostwriter. With ghostwriting you are not usually at liberty to discuss the project(s) or the client. In this case I've become a partner with Randi Altschul on our first book Sorry, You Can't Enter Heaven.

Recently published by iUniverse, Sorry is a fast, fun read about personal empowerment and the choices we make in life. What if you arrived at Heaven but couldn’t get in because you’d had cosmetic surgery. You’re not…you. For vanity’s sake, you changed the original packaging and altered your destiny. CEO Lisa Michaels finds out death isn’t her only challenge.

Sorry is available for purchase online at iUniverse.com, Amazon.com and BN.com.

As the success for this first book grows, Randi and I are already teaming up for our next novel. Stay tuned.

June 12 is CNS Awareness Day

Olympia, Washington, June 6, 2007—What’s Crowded Nest Syndrome? It’s when your home, your nest if you will, includes more than just yourself and/or your spouse. A crowded nest can involve returning adult children, taking care of aging parents, raising grandchildren, or any other relatives or friends that move in.

You Know You’re Living in a Crowded Nest When…

• Your other car is a U-Haul.


• You have to take a number to use the bathroom.


• There’s a waiting list for the washing machine.


• The fire department pulls your occupancy permit.


• You go to use your car on Monday morning and the gas tank is empty.


• You buy $250 worth of groceries and it disappears in less than 24 hours.
  

June 12 is CNS Awareness Day. If you don’t live in a crowded nest, be grateful. If you know someone who does, take them out to dinner, give them two tickets to a movie, anything to get them out of the house for some peace and quiet.

Rules to Survive Crowded Nest Syndrome:

• Do not make them comfortable; they will never leave.
  Padlock everything, the washer & dryer, the refrigerator and your bathroom.


• More Laundry + More People = Cold Showers
  Hot water tanks handle only so much. Get yours in first.


• Take care of yourself; no one else will.
  Find your happy place and go there—often. Eat right, exercise, and hide out at Wal-Mart, at least they’re paid to smile at you.


• You have the right to eat your own leftovers.
  Boomerangs go right for Styrofoam boxes, doggie bags. Hide them in the vegetable bin.


• This is not the Marriott, no Free Amenities.
  Set up a schedule for the computer, the telephone and the television. Charge for them accordingly. Laundry services? Sure, at so much per load.
  
  CNS Commandments
  Whoever wakes up first has access to the most.
  Chocolate is sacred, hoard it
  When all else fails, double your Prozac.
  

Happy CNS Awareness Day, June 12th.

Copyright © 2007, Kathleen Shaputis is the author of “The Crowded Nest Syndrome,” a humorous look at a growing trend in America. Available at Amazon.com and www.Shaputis.com.