I don't like endings . When I was a little girl I always left a bite of food on my plate much to my Dad’s chagrin. I still tarry over the last few pages of a good book, not wanting it to be over. When a TV series I’ve been watching comes to a close, I grieve. So you see, there’s no way I would have finished writing Jewish Luck without my sister, Meryll, grabbing it away from my clutching grip declaring “We’re finished.”
So, of course I want to hold onto this past year for awhile longer. Based upon the 72 facebook contacts who wished me a happy birthday last week, I may be at the apex of my popularity. My kids were kind enough to remind me that my mom is likely more popular than me so I may still be on the ascent.
I thought this would be...
Magical realism is nothing new for me. When you’ve spent your childhood watching “Bewitched,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” and “My Favorite Martian,” you assume you have special powers; or, at least, you might befriend an alien or genie who will grant wishes on your behalf. I’m glad to report that I have finally found my superpower – blogging.
However as Spiderman’s uncle said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I can use my superpower for vengeance or good. For example, I could use blogging to repeat absurd statements that irritate me. But I shall not be petty. I really, really want to be petty, but my husband, Harry, and my sister advised me it’s an abuse of a superpower.
Because I blog, I can change the world, at least, in a minuscule way. Words are appearing in the spaces in front of me as I push down the keys. I know... 
When we consulted with Scott Edelstein about the steps from written manuscript to published book, he patiently explained the complicated world of publishing and concluded with an introduction to the equally complex world of self-publishing. Both Leslie and I remembered one particular nugget of advice—if you want to be in control, self-publishing is the route to go.
That characterizes Leslie and me. We love control! We wanted input into every phase of our book – particularly, the cover. We batted around a lot of cover design ideas between us, usually incorporating a photo of Vera and Alisa. Neither of us is a designer and, finally, we decided we needed professional intervention.
How do you find a good designer? I thought it would be like finding a good hairdresser.
You look at others’ haircuts and asked, “who did it?” It’s not quite that simple because we also wanted a local designer.... 
