Shock

Honestly: Sometimes I think I am the happiest retired person alive. I do not take this blessed state of being retired for granted. It is a privilege to live as one wants without financial anxiety. "Inheritance" is one of my favourite words. Back pain aside, I live in a state of bliss and have for some time.

So I was shocked this morning to hear from my friends who warehouse my books in an attic of their warehouse that I had only 180 books left. I don't sell a lot of books. Artist Survival Skills (a textbook for visual artists) came out in 2008, but 4,820 have sold since then. This afternoon, because it is just before Christmas, another order for 90 books came in. Now I have 90 left.

Suddenly my tranquility is gone. I spent a fair bit of time today talking with my book sales agent and the biggest seller to see what I should do and now I have a massive project ahead of me: I have to revise and expand the book to create a "new and improved" version. I am not feeling retired any more.