Every writer wants to feel the love and yesterday I was a lucky girl. I got to participate in a lively panel discussion at Hofstra University with my favorite group of Long Island authors and then come home, kick off my shoes, and chat with a book club in Northern Kentucky via web cam. Yep. Talking to readers, answering their questions and having a lot of laughs is my kind of day!

A special thanks to Debbi Honorof, the book editor of Long Island Woman magazine, who organized a super event at Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island (site of the final presidential debate last Fall). The topic was Transitions: Myths and Realities in Fiction and it was a timely talk because who isn’t in transition? Plus, the program was sponsored by the Long Island Transition Network: a group of women who are in transition due to changes in their marital status, careers, health, wealth and so on. Great idea and what a nice, responsive crowd!

I was joined on the panel by my fearless friends and authors, Ellen Meister, Brenda Janowitz (yay- she’s having a boy!!!!) and Carol Hoenig.

We are always in transition so we could relate, but from there we went on to discuss the writer’s life, the world of publishing, and, of course, life on Long Island, which is like none other.

In fact, one of Debbi’s questions (she did a marvelous job moderating as always) was how our stories will be affected by the closing of Fortunoff,  a Long Island landmark, We all sighed. Talk about transitions. Our novels are set here and how could we not mention the store where we all shopped for our linens and kitchenwares  before Bed, Bath and Beyond ruled the world? Of course! We could change the time period to the go-go eighties when Fortunoff was the destination stop for all things gifts. So clever!

Next, I had to share my latest Long Island story and am moving it to the top of my list. Are you ready?

I just bought a new pocketbook- a nice bright, turquoise bag with thick, comfortable handles and not too much muss and fuss on the outside. Frankly, it was time to retire my trusty black shoulder bag as it was so heavy it was starting to resemble  Samsonite luggage.

Anyway, I’m at the beauty salon when a woman in the next chair admires the pocketbook and asks to see it. Then she stops chewing her gum long enough to scrunch her little face and say, “Is that the Dana Buchman bag from Kohls?”  I say yes, proud that I bought a really nice bag and didn’t spend the equivalent of a mortgage payment. She says, “You know it’s not leather, right?”

Normally I am very quick with the comebacks, but she got me. Here is what I should have said (pick one):

A. Oh no! Not leather? Is that a felony or a misdemeanor?

B. Yay! I saved a cow today!

C. Yes it is leather, you little bitch!

But I digress. I said nothing. I am bigger than that. Not really. I just have an outlet for revenge… that snarky little convo wil show up in my next book. You have my word.

Okay, moving on. A few weeks ago I was delighted to get an e-mail from Pam, a reader outside of Cincinnati who wanted to know more about Dear Neighbor. After exchanging several e-mails, we discovered that we both grew up in Munster, Indiana and went to Indiana University. Small world indeed.  Then Pam and I made arrangements to have a book club via Skype. So much fun!

Yes, that’s me with my mouth going on the little laptop, but hey, this is exciting! We chatted, we laughed, we talked about books, happy endings and Facebook. Seems we’re all on it and it’s our guilty pleasure.  I totally enjoyed talking to this nice group of ladies and hope we can do a reunion tour when they read one of my other books.

Thank you for inviting me, Pam, and thank you Karla and Karen for assisting with all the technical things. Hope you had as much fun as me.

Now it’s back to work on my new novel, Margot Is No Longer Listed as Married. Exactly. It’s about Facebook, what else???? Stay tuned!

I had so much fun last night. I did a book club discussion with a lovely group of ladies from Northborough, MA- not in person, not by phone, but by Skype. I had tried doing book discussions using a web cam before, but it always felt so Star Trekky. Any minute I expected to see a woman float by as if she was in the Space Shuttle Barnes & Noble. And the sound quality was pretty bad too. Lots of delays and reverb.

But now through the wonders of updated versions, the Technology Gods were shining on us, save for the few minutes that we lost our connection when somebody tripped over the power cord. But hey, it was an honest mistake, and soon we were up and running again.

Let me tell you why this was such an exciting experience for me. First, I love talking to book lovers, especially ones who have read mine. Even better, we got to chat without my having to dress up or go crazy with the hair and make-up. In fact, I only had to look presentable from the top up, just like a newscaster. And trust me, I took advantage. Nice sweater on top, pajamas on the bottom (shhhh….)

The other thrill was knowing that this forum opened up a whole new world. No more having to disappoint readers from around the country who would say to me, “I loved your new novel. Wish you could come talk to my book club.” Now I can and it’s free, fast and fun. Plus, no down time or travel expense. Only thing I can’t do is sign books, but you can’t have everything.

Meanwhile, here is my open invitation to you. If you are in a book club and you read one of my novels, e-mail me about setting a date to get  together on Skype. Ooovoo is fine, too. Just don’t ask me to stand while I talk. You never know what I’ll be wearing on the bottom!

Saralee@saraleerosenberg.com

Almost twenty years ago, when we bought our first computer, I bet my husband that like our  treadmill, this big, fat machine would turn into our latest dust collector/clothes hanger (I was right about the treadmill). I never imagined that within a short period of time, new devices, games and gadgets would creep into our lives, strangling our nerves and taking large chunks of our time and money. And I call myself psychic!

Today our lives are owned and operated by a sea of gadgets and technology that we apparently cannot live without, but what a price we’re paying. We have been sucked in to the notion that they provide us with so much joy and pleasure, whatever little nuisance issues they present are worth it. Ha! These things are likely taking years off my life. I might as well smoke again.

For example, our bedroom, a former oasis filled with family photos and a single TV controller, is now littered with cell phones, Bluetooth devices, Blackberrys, laptops, digital cameras, webcams, external hard drives, IPODs and headsets and the newest member of the We-Own-You monarchy, The Kindle. But they did not intrude on their own. They came with accessories- cases, chargers, manuals, back-up discs and my favorite, the important offers to buy even more if you call  before midnight (we used to at least get the Ginsu knives).

Yes, of course, I do enjoy this world of entertainment and accessibility, and all is well until all is not well. Losing any of the above can create such havoc, is it any wonder that Eli Lilly hasn’t marketed a pill just to take the edge off when turning your home upside down in search of something that if you don’t find, you’ll be so pissed, especially if it turns out that you didn’t lose it, somebody borrowed it without asking and never returned it? How isn’t this a misdemeanor yet?

But as bad as losing a device or charger is, this is nothing compared to dealing with the despair when your computer or one of your high-tech toys doesn’t work properly, or heaven forbid, crashes. Then, no matter how rich or powerful, no matter how smart or successful, you are brought to your knees because for the next few minutes, or even hours or days, you will be at the mercy of Mahamati of Mumbai, aka, David.

This is not late breaking news. It is a simple restatement of the obvious. Technology is great until it breaks down and brings you to the front lines of enemy territory- technical support. Oh how we dread hearing those computer-generated messages, “Please hang on. Your call is very important to us.” No it’s not or you would have picked up the freakin’ phone already and connected me with a competent individual, not someone who was trained a month ago and prior to that was selling dental plans.

Why am I ranting? You know why. I found myself in a fetal position this week when thanks to the fine folks at Dell, my three-month old computer crashed. After spending six and a half hours on the phone with three different technical support people, one more useless than the next, I was finally rescued by Isaac in the Oklahoma City call center (must be a sign that God did an intervention), who miraculously was able to get the computer to reboot. I lost everything that wasn’t backed up on my external hard drive, but at least it turned on again.

I swear every time that I hear someone in another part of the world tell me that they understand my frustration and they apologize for the inconvenience, I am going to do something monk-like and shelter myself in a place where my only connection with the outside world is a good book. But alas, I know myself better and talk is cheap.

Like an addict, I cannot imagine life without my cell phone, laptop, IPOD, the Internet, digital camera or HD TV. And I really don’t want to be a monk (although if it means not having to make dinner or do the laundry, maybe we’ll talk). I just wish that I didn’t have to admit how much time has been eaten up using these devices and then managing them when they break down.  Time I’ll never get back as God has a strict no-refund policy.

Oh well. Gotta run. My daughter just IM’d me that she is on line from Italy and it’s time to OOVOO. Ciao!