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You too can receive > Enjoy A VIEW OF THE RIVER
Enjoy A VIEW OF THE RIVER

Sep 6, 2005

Hello, friends and readers.

I haven't been to a store in what seems like eons, but I'm
told that A VIEW OF THE RIVER (Mira, 9/1/05) has indeed
shown up "wherever books are sold." If you haven't read
the excerpt on my web site, I hope you'll visit me soon,
take a peek, and decide to give the whole book a try. I'm
pleased to be able to say that it's available in affordable
paperback. With the next book--which I'm busy working
on--we're going back to the hard/soft schedule. Please let
me know your thoughts about A VIEW OF THE RIVER. I do
check the message board regularly, and I love to see
discussion going on there, but you're welcome to e-mail me
as well.

In addition to www.kathleeneagle.com, do make a stop at
www.midwestfiction.com for page update about so many good
things, including the RWA conference in Reno and our own
upcoming Minneapolis workshop, not to mention our booth at
the Midwest Booksellers Association trade show in St. Paul
and lots of other author appearances.

Oh, and one more web plug. Please visit my "Links" page
for a connection to a new weekly romance review site called
"B(u)y the Book." Reviewer Michelle Buonfiglio (who was a
Miss America finalist in 1989--check out her bio!) does a
great job with a new review every week. The most exciting
part is that her column is syndicated on web TV NBC
affiliate sites all over the country. She has a wonderful
bulletin board, so I hope you'll get in on the discussion
there as well as on www.kathleeneagle.com!

There are some new things on my web site, including the
family album that someone suggested. I will soon put
together a new "What's New?" page with pictures of my
growing-like-a-weed colt and other goodies. And that
contest is coming--I promise!

Right now it feels like a rather unworthy chore to be
promoting books and making up contests. Like all of you, I
watch and read the daily news with profound awe, dismay,
sadness, and a thousand other reactions. I remember my
visits to New Orleans over the years. At one time I had
family there--my dad's sister and her family. I've gone to
conferences in New Orleans and hope to attend another one
there next spring. I've done book tours there, and I love
the city and its friendly people. What can be said except
that New Orleans is our American Queen of Cities? Long
live the Queen! We can surely understand why her residents
were so reluctant to desert her as disaster approached.
Now we must pull together to shore her up and restore her
glory. But first, we help the people.

The Lakota have a saying: "We are all related." It's so
true. At times like this, don't we all count our personal
connections and treasure our memories even as we strive to
reach out? My father was born in Baton Rouge. Like him, I
was a military brat, so I have very early memories of being
stationed in Alabama and Biloxi, MS. My family's original
home town of Colonial Beach, VA was devatated by hurricane
Isabelle, which was heartbreaking. But Colonial Beach is
now rebuilding, as the Gulf Coast communities will do, but
not without our help. This disaster is too big, too
far-reaching, and it has taken too many and too much.

Like the rest of you, I've answered the call for cash
several times over. At times like this I suggest we check
look to sites like www.charitywatch.org before we donate to
charities we're not familiar with or just to get more
information about an organization's efficiency. There are
other charity monitoring sites. Your state government
probably offers one. But we all remember the charity
fallout after 9/11, and we want our contributions to do the
most good possible.

Along with many fellow writers, I'm boxing up books for
giveaway in shelters. Looking at those Astrodome pictures,
can you imagine being there without something to read?
Minnesota is preparing its barracks at Camp Ripley to
receive as many as 3000 refugees this week, so I plan to
offer what I can over there. Just rattling on here--I know
we're all trying to think of ways we might help. Feel free
to make your own suggestions on my bulletin board. You
never know when you'll come up with something that others
haven't thought of or didn't know that can be very useful.

So many inspiring stories have come out of this tragedy,
serving to remind us of our most noble instincts.
Yesterday's paper described an instance that I'll relate
here in honor of Labor Day, which is today. It seems that
the management of the Hotel Le Richelieu in the French
Quarter fled the premises two days after the storm. And
who among us can blame them? But there were still guests
staying in the hotel and staff that stayed behind. The
cooks, maids and security officers took over of their own
accord to ration supplies, schedule duties, and assign
foraging teams. As of yesterday, the kitchen was managing
to serve hot food. I salute them.

I salute all the workers who make America such a great
place to live. Be safe. As Garrison Keilor says, "Be
well, do good work, and keep in touch."