Authory Stuff

Some big - but short - news today.

First off, my book is now available for pre-ordering. Which means, if you want to saunter on over to www.somekindofnormal.info, you can see the book blurb, the cover, etc., and then actually buy it so that you will be one of the first to get it when it rolls hot off the press.

The pre-ordering means the book is done, is at the printer, the printer has looked at it and said, Yeah, looks like all the ducks are in a row and we can make it into a real looking book. And then they put it in the queue with the rest of the books. And when it reaches the front of the line, they print it and ship it out. This is the way a small press works. It's a little less all TA-DA!! than a larger publishing house, but it's faster. :)

I'm also considering having a release day blog party in which I will sell  signed copies if you want one of those. And of course offer virtual food and drink and entertainment. What do you think?

The last bit of news is that I have had my first blog author interview! So exciting! It's like actually being a real author! Fellow writer Kristi Faith and I have been emailing back and forth for a few weeks, and it has been so fun getting to know her and chatting endlessly about this whole process.  She's put together an amazing post so if you have time, head over to Kristi Faith's blog and say hi and read my dorky answers and find out a little about my journey as an author with a small press.

Give Away Over at Kim's Place!!

You know what I love about debut authors?  They're excited! And they give really cool things away... like their books (among other very cool stuff)!  And I feel so lucky to "know" so many really great authors with amazing books here in the blogosphere.

One of those amazing authors is Kimberly Derting, who is only 100 days away from her book, The Body Finder,  landing on a bookstore shelf near you. How cool is that??  But you know what?  She's celebrating by giving away one of the ARCs, along with some other really cool stuff! 

Head over to her blog post and enter!  Quick! Because it looks like the comment section is filling up!

It's Friday; It's a Good Thing

What's a good thing?  This.

The Christmas decorations are finally up. The pooch is happily curled on the floor sleeping.  Little by little, things are getting done. I'm learning to stop looking at all the things I need to do and only look at one at a time and get that done. I'm less panicky that way.

Kristi over at R.A.W. has done an interview with me (my first author interview!!), so head over there on Monday to read it. Or heck, head over there now just to read her blog!  :)

Well, it's Friday and it's supposed to snow tomorrow for the first time this season. My plans for this weekend are a roaring fire in the pellet stove, twinkling Christmas lights, writing cards, and a Christmas concert.

Oh, and this little guy warming my lap.  Happy Friday!

How Did Your NaN - Oh! Look! Something Shiny!

As you can tell by the title, I feel a bit distracted lately. By everything. When did America become such a over-stimulated, multi-tasking, short attention spanned place to live?  Not that I blame America. The blame is all on me. I can barely focus on anything these days long enough to finish it.  As a result, my Christmas decorations are only a third up, my gym hasn't seen me in three weeks, my newest novel is hanging out waiting for me to get back to it... along with the other two novels I started this year and then stopped.

Jessica Faust over at BookEnds had a great post today about the writing process... about all the different ways authors attack writing and the self-doubt we seem to fall into every time. And then Mark Terry commented about the Eureka moment he gets to in writing... that moment in which the story gets a little tough to write and suddenly you have this really great idea for another book, which he mentions that Erica Orloff calls her Bright Shiny Moment. as in, this plot is getting a little hard to figure out - hey! look! another bright shiny idea!

I shamefully admit this is where I am. I have three novels started... all exceptional ideas in theory. And another popped into my head yesterday, complete with title, rough outline and characters, and suddenly I was like HOLD ON! I can't keep up!! And it reminded me of all the people who have said to me, since finding out I am being published, Oh! I have some great ideas for books! To which I want to say, Yeah, me too.

The ideas aren't the hard thing. The hard thing is writing them down, each and every word, start to finish. All stinking 90,000 words of them. Because really, sometimes only the first 10,000 are the fun and easy part. And then it all starts to look like crap, and I wonder why in the world anyone would want to read them, and I imagine all the awful reviews they would get on amazon and blogs (How in the world did this piece of garbage get published when I know so many people who write better that can't even find an agent??).

And now, even worse, I have a puppy in the house that, if you don't watch him every single second something might get chewed or peed on - or toppled, like the Christmas tree which I swear is cowering in the corner shaking at the double threat of being mistaken for an inside toilet and being wrestled to the ground by tiny teeth.

And Christmas cards... don't even get me started on this one. I bought the cards. Do I get partial credit for that?

And shopping - I'm doing good that we haven't run out of puppy food or milk at this point. Please don't tell me how many days I have left to figure out what to buy for people for Christmas.

Yesterday there were four loads of laundry cleaned and waiting to be folded. Have you folded clothes with a puppy around? Every article of clothing becomes an opportunity for tug of war.

I haven't even filled in our activities on the calendar this month because it is just too overwhelming. If I close my eyes, will it all just magically happen?

So my latest WIP is waiting... sitting patiently (unlike the puppy). And I'm just trying to figure out how to fit in a shower...

does walking the dog in the rain count?

(and when I started this post, I meant to ask: How did your NaNo writing go? Did you finish? Did you survive? Did you push through even when it felt like crap? And are you so proud of yourself for doing it - even if you didn't grab the final prize?)

Meet the Newest Addition to My Family!

Three years ago my beautiful black lab died of cancer at the age of twelve. I wrote a post about it a year ago at this time, hoping that our house would soon be big enough again for another.  It took a year to finally get my husband on board and find the perfect dog, but last week we did.

Meet Scout.

He's a nine-week-old black lab puppy that we adopted this weekend. He's so smart, so beautiful, and so tiny! And such a joy!   His favorite thing to do is crawl into whatever available lap he can find and curl up.  I don't remember when I've smiled this much.

So now instead of being buried in the computer, I'm taking long walks, wrangling Christmas lights from tiny jaws, throwing tennis balls, and rubbing tummies. So if I get a little more absent than normal here, you'll know where I am. Sitting on the floor with a soft warm puppy.

It's Thanksgiving already - How did that happen?

Before I hit the whole Thanksgiving thing, let me just offer a word of advice to you writers out there:

Don't let your galley proof edits/ hardcore deadlines/ novel release happen around the holidays. Just... don't. You'll thank me later.

So on to Thanksgiving randomness:

• I bought a 23 pound turkey. I'm not sure it's going to be big enough. I'm also not sure if it will fit in my oven.

• I miss reading. I mean, reading something than my own work, which frankly I'm getting tired of at this point (only, darn it, it still makes me cry in parts, which I think makes me the biggest sap ever). I am really hoping to get a little time to read something this weekend. It's not looking likely, but still, I'm hoping. I'm even thinking of reading something totally FUN and superfluous... like a book I've already read and really loved. Kind of like comfort food for the soul. That's what the holidays are for, right?

• Do you know how I know I'm getting old? (And don't say because I tear the tissue in my foot playing Wii Tennis, because that was SO my 30s, which is NOT OLD, and which I'm told was totally a freak thing, and not that uncommon. I'm not the only one, right??). Anyhoo - I know I'm getting old because I used to be able to stay up until one or two every night working and then still get up and get the kids off to school and go back to work. Now, I stay up until one in the morning and the next day I have to go to bed by 10:30. Five hours of sleep is no longer doing it for me. Just wait - by next Thanksgiving I'll be going to bed at seven-thirty and gumming my turkey.

• That last point really had no Thanksgiving point, but I managed to work it in anyway. Cool, eh? 

• I'm so thankful for my family right now. I've discovered the past two weeks that I cannot be a full-time writer and a full-time mom at the same time. Not that I'm not trying. But something's got to give. And my kids and husband have been so good about sacrificing a few mommy things. And they've been really understanding of my stress levels. And my tears. And my rants. And my burnt cinnamon rolls. Not that I've cooked cinnamon rolls lately, but if I did, I'm sure I'd burn them.

• I went in to the elementary school yesterday to help in my youngest daughter's Thanksgiving feast. Oh my goodness! Is there anything cuter than a gaggle of first graders dressed like pilgrims and indians?? I think there were more pilgrims and indians in that room than there were at the first Thanksgiving. I'm serious. We probably had more food too.

• I love living in a country that takes time to be thankful every year. We spend an awful lot of time grumbling and complaining and fighting each other and ranting over politics and pointing fingers. I'm thankful we haven't lost the ability to stop that for a little bit and remember how very, very blessed we are. 

• I have very big Thanksgiving news I'll post on the blog on Monday, if I can wait that long. It's not at all writing related, but personally very big. I'm so excited I could do handsprings. You know, if I knew how to do handsprings and I didn't think it would break my back and put me into traction. But yeah, if not for those things, I'd be doing handsprings!

I'm off for the rest of the week. Have a great week and weekend, no matter where you live. Remember, being Thankful isn't just a US thing.  :)