Could you look into it?

I was thinking on getting away for the July 4^th weekend—cheaply—so the best place to look for such flights is Southwest Airlines. Hmm…what happened to the $49.00 one-way flights? And no, I’m not talking about flying from Chicago to Cleveland. Southwest was the savior of the skies for budget seekers, and now they seem to be flying at the same cost as other airlines. I feel like the American people can’t catch a break at the gas pump, grocery store, and now getaways. We NEED mental health weekends and Southwest used to be our answer.  

During my months in Europe, we were able to experience different places because of the budget airline, Ryanair. I was able to buy two round trip tickets to Bologna, Italy from Dusseldorf, Germany for 28 Euros, approximately $35.00. If it wasn’t for Ryanair, I wouldn’t have been able to go and enjoy different countries in Europe.   

Why can’t Southwest or another airline look into what makes Ryanair successful? Americans should be able to fly to Boston or California at reasonable costs. We can’t even blame flight increases on gas costs because Europe’s average gas prices are anywhere from $6.00 to $11.00 a gallon. 

Nowadays there are more people relocating to other states, which mean low cost fares would help them see family from time to time. People aren’t utilizing their full vacation time for the “what if’s” and “costs”. If an airline started providing low, reasonable fares, they’d be constantly booked because more people would fly. And if more people fly, it would boost the economy allowing them to spend more during their travels. It’s a win/win situation.

Could you look into it? I mean, it would be awesome to fly to California (round-trip) at a cost far less than flying to Europe.

Whatcha thinkin'?

About Face

I recently joined Facebook to promote my blog readership and my present and future writing endeavors. I’ve connected with some writers, but also with my past. People have always talked about the connections they make on Facebook, but I didn’t care until I actually joined. As great as it is to connect with other writers, I find it sweet that I’m connecting with past neighbors and my second grade teacher. Yes, my second grade teacher, who used to call me an angel. I’d go home and tell my grandmother she called me an angel, and my grandmother would respond, “An angel with horns.”

Facebook lets us reach out to all moments and interests in our lives. It isn’t the only opportunity to connect with people from around the world, but it is a place where we can create our own little families—share our kernels of life. It’s also educational—a great place to add ‘likes’ and receive updates. I’ve been reading about Barry Eisler’s decision to self-publish. For those of you unaware about the publishing world, traditional publishing is going through major changes. It’s no longer the main or only way to publish. Due to technology, there are so many mediums (paper or Nook or Kindle) and ways to self-publish. The economy played a role in traditional publishing houses being choosy with their book choices. Since writers wanted to get their story out there, and publishing companies began focusing on known writers or celebrities, self-publishing became the main competitor of traditional publishing.

It’s a relief to read what Barry and Joe Knorath have to say about self-publishing. Self-publishing has always been a taboo in writers’ circles, so Barry’s and Joe’s information helps writers  know the challenges of both so they can make the best decision for their works. It lets me know that traditional publishing isn’t the only way to go, and it also makes me feel that rejection from big house publishing companies doesn’t mean my writing is bad.

Barry Eisler is a well-known author of many books, and has now decided to self-publish. This decision has made agents and traditional publishing companies angry because it puts them in jeopardy. There are many arguments between self-publishing and traditional, but seeing an established author who has gone the traditional route then change to self-publishing, has caught many people’s attention—especially mine. Barry and Joe Konrath, a Chicago writer, had a long discussion about Ebooks and Self-publishing. In December, Joe wrote a blog post titled, “You Should Self-Publish”. You can read the discussions between Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler on Barry’s blog: Ebooks and Self-Publishing: A Conversation Between Authors Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath and Part 2.

So I made an about face with Facebook, and the publishing world has made an about face with self-publishing.

Have you done an about face?