Yarn-A-Go-Go

One Week Later

And I've been having SO MUCH FUN. Honestly, this has been a great week. I've heard from a lot of people already about the book, and y'all are liking it! Really liking it! That thrills me to my toes. And also, you all read SO QUICKLY. Some of you read in the tub. And in your cars. Or in the parking lot on lunch breaks. I've been fascinated to find out where you're reading it. Some of you read it to other people (I wonder which bits? That could be blush-worthy, if you know what I mean...).

Don't forget to give it a review somewhere (Amazon, goodreads, librarything, your own blog, etc.) and email me about it at yarnagogo@gmail.com to make sure I enter you to win your chance to win the sweater Abigail made for Cade in the book (or gift certs for book $)! See THIS POST for more details.

And also, sign up to be on the mailing list, where I give something away every month, just for fun! I'm not spammy, ever!

Me, meanwhile,  I'm just sitting and knitting. And soaking it all in. And trying to have FUN. Someone asked me the other day what I did for fun, and besides reading in bed before falling asleep, I couldn't really remember -- I've been working so much, either at the job or on the writing.

I didn't like that I said that. That's not me.

So Sunday night, I opened a bottle of wine, cast a loving glance at the pile of my beautiful books, shut my computer, and turned on the Oscars. I dragged out my sorely neglected Ashford Joy, and I spun and plied three skeins of yarns. I had the best time. It felt like pure joy, the fiber (mostly merino, but there was a batt of pure purple angora in there that went right up my nose and made me happy) flying through my fingers, long-draw, slubby, and happy. I'm not a technically perfect spinner, but boy, it does my heart right.

Oh, yeah. :)

My First Signing

My first signing is today, at Caps Restaurant, 144 Oak St., Brentwood, at 3:30pm.

I am SO excited.

And I'm so happy that I don't have to do it alone! I won't be reading or anything like that -- I'll just be sitting in a room with six other fantabulous authors (including Sophie Littlefield and Juliet Blackwell of the PensFatales -- we're bound to get in SOME kind of trouble), and if someone wants my book, I'll sign it for them, and that will be it. Barnes & Noble is bringing fifteen of them. I hope I sell at least a couple. But if I don't, I'm sitting there knitting and watching the Big Girls work.

Hoo boy. I'll let you  know how it goes.

A Great Night

My sisters, Christy and Bethany, and the PensFatales (minus three) came over last night to go book hunting with me and Lala. First, there was champagne.

Then we went to Books Inc. in Alameda, where I really didn't think they would have it. Small indie, you know. I didn't have my hopes up. But Bethany found something. Here I am, so flustered I CAN'T SPELL MY LAST NAME TO FIND IT. When I did, I was completely convinced they'd planted it. (Why, I'm not sure. But I thought they did.)

Then we went to Borders in Alameda, where they had a lot of them! Face out! (Always the best way to be placed.)

There weren't many after we left. I signed them all. OH THE HEADY THRILL.

  Then we celebrated a little more. But only a little bit. The rush of the book was enough for me.

Oh, oh, oh. This is the most fun ever. (But I have to admit, this morning I'm already at my desk doing actual work, which feels great because for the last couple of days I've been too excited to really do anything productive. This feels good, too. I'm getting back to normal. Happy sigh.)

Don't forget to enter the Love Song Sweater contest! See previous post! (And OMG, people have already read the book and liked it and told me so! YOU PEOPLE ARE AMAZING! xoxo)

Today's the Big Day!

How to Knit a Love Song is here! In a store near you!

I've wanted this day to come for sooo long. You know that. I don't have to tell you that. And from everyone I talk to this is how today will go: I'll wake up with a big jolt. I'll sit straight up. I'll race into the kitchen with a spring in a step and joy in every cell of my body.

And then the cats will yell at me and I'll feed them and then I'll make some coffee and do some work. Just another day.

AS A PUBLISHED AUTHOR, THOUGH.

Ahem.

Let's celebrate with a contest! A BIG ONE!

I'm giving away three $25 Barnes & Noble gift certificates AND THE LOVE SONG SWEATER itself! I made it as the book prototype (I mean, Abigail made it for Cade....), and it's just lovely. Strong enough for a man, pretty enough for you!

RULES FOR ENTRY:

1. One entry for taking a picture of the book in the wild (in a bookstore) and posting it to your blog, Twitter, or Facebook with a link to an online seller

2. Two entries for taking a picture of YOU with the book and posting it to your blog, Twitter, or Facebook with a link to an online seller

3. Three entries for posting a review (anywhere, your blog, Amazon, GoodReads...) of the book

Send me notification when you've posted your links to yarnagogo@gmail.com and I'll add your entries to the hat! I'll draw the gift certificate and the grand prize winners in a month on April 2nd! That's it!

And now I'm back to pacing circles into the floor. Lala, the sisters, and the PensFatales are taking me out for champagne tonight. We're going to hunt for the book in bookstores. If we find it, we're celebrating. And if we don't, we're celebrating, too. So really, it's a win/win.

I can't fit it all into a woot, but WOOT! (And to all the knitters I met at Stitches West, hello. I love you. You made my whole year. Honestly.) 

Oh, frabjous day.

Have a Listen

If you're jonesing for something to listen to while knitting, I've been interviewed a couple of times recently.

In her come-back podcast, Marie Irshad interviews me on Knitcast. (That was fun -- we met for the first time years and years ago and have met up a couple of times. So nice to talk to her again.)

And Heather talked to me on CraftLit, too. She's so smart and fun! I didn't admit to her I've never read Persuasion because someone like me should have already read it, but now I want to.... 

I really should cut back on the giggling, but I think it may be impossible.

PS - T minus ONE DAY.

Did You Write the Other One?

I'm handing out excerpts of my book at Stitches this weekend as fast as my little hands can pass them out, and before I fall asleep face down in my soup, here are a couple of my favorite reactions so far:

Me, handing Knitter flier: "Hi! Take a sneak peek at my novel, which comes out on Tuesday!"

Knitter: "Did you write this?"

Me: "Yes."

Knitter: "Did you write the other one?"

Me: "..."

Or this:

Knitter, looking at the back of the excerpt, where my picture is: "Oh, I know her. She's from LA."

Me: "I'm from Oakland."

Knitter (suspiciously): "Hmm." 

Or this:

Knitter, looking at the cover: "Oh, I heard about this on NPR!"

Me, thinking: I wish. Saying: "Mmmm." 

Or my favorite:

Knitter, picking up the excerpt and flipping it over: "What channel will this be on?"

I had no answer for that one at all other than (what I thought was) the obvious. "It's a book."

A disappointed "Oh" was all I got. 

But it is SO MUCH FUN. Knitters are my people. Knitters FOR THE WIN. While these reactions are funny, most of the reactions I got were overwhelmingly positive, to the point where sometimes I just wanted to cry with joy from it all. The smiles, the encouragement, the excitement on their faces when they learned it was my first novel -- I could have hugged everyone. Maybe I did.

I can't wait to go back tomorrow.

Eventful

It's just been one of those really eventful days. One of those days that sneaks up on you, and acts all quiet, and moves like a normal day but isn't -- you know the kind. I went to work and answered 911 and looked at email and talked to coworkers and it SHOULD have been a normal day, but it wasn't. It was special.

Good things are happening in book world. Nothing completely momentous (I would tell you), and nothing that I can really blog about, but good things.

But I'm a BLURB. A real blurb. I got this book in the mail today, and when I turned it over, I'M ON THE BACK COVER AS A BLURB. I've never been quoted before. Are they sure they got the right gal? I'm right there with superstars Annie Modesitt and Clara Parkes. Come on, really, I know from knitting, but only from a trotting horse. I think I forgot to tell Adrienne that. I'll be reviewing her book later next month, but if you want to take a sneak peek, hie yourself over to Amazon now, because I loved this book.

I worked a really short shift today, only eight hours, and then went to the doctor for a routine visit, and then got to go into San Francisco, where we attended a schmancy art opening (they let us in! We saw people we knew and didn't know they would be there!) and got to see Lala's old roommate, Rachel Maddow.

 

(Lala was wearing the glasses first. But Rachel M was perhaps Lala's first (of MANY) Rach(a)els, near and far. There was some talk of how I was the Saudi Arabia of Rachels, and she was the Afghanistan, but I kind of stopped following that line of reasoning when my ass hit her HER GIRLFRIEND'S ARTWORK on the wall (Susan Mikula -- it was her opening). I was taking that photo and tried to act as if I hadn't almost taken out some of the Important Art.)

This lovely reunion was followed by Laphroig at the Westin, and a discussion about a great interview Lala had today (please think good thoughts!). I do love a hotel bar. I swear I saw an earnest looking young guy in a suit get out a dog collar and place it carefully next to the bar lamp, so I was watching to see who met up with him but we left before his date arrived, damn it.

Then home for TJ's pizza, and now I'm off to bed, exhausted and happy. Tomorrow is Stitches West, and I'll be there all weekend. Catch me if you can! xoxo

It's HERE!

My book is here. T minus eight days to on-sale date. (Also, I dork out. I ALWAYS DORK OUT.)

Home is Where the Heart Is

The beginning of the week was outstanding. Disneyland was amazing -- the perfect place to go and BE. You just have to live in the moment at Disneyland, and we did. We had the best time. Rode all the rides. Ate all the food. Laughed and screamed and did everything right. I talked Lala into riding the Tower of Terror, and I think it was the most fun ride I've ever been on. (It's an elevator ride that keeps dropping, over and over. She hated it, though, and gets points for going on it at all, and I'll never make her do it again.)

She hadn't been in thirty-four years. She was in the first group of people to ride Space Mountain. It was high-time she went again. And it was flipping awesome.

But so far today I've been laid up by either a migraine or some sickness some kid gave me in Disneyland (cute little things, but little germ factories, all gathered together in one place like that), Miss Idaho's butt has exploded (anal-gland problem -- she's at the vet now), the cops have been at the door asking about the fight on the street they were two hours too late to break up, Clementine has pooped in the dining room, and I've received bad news on the phone that I don't really want to talk about (nothing big, just disappointing -- I'll get over it). 

But I'm glad to be home.

Now, here's something nice someone I like is doing for others. The very talented Rosemary is selling her gorgeous Brandywine pattern for a great cause. She wants to sell 10,000 patterns to raise $50,000 to help Haiti (that's a LOT OF PATTERNS). She's already donated more than $2000 $3,500!! so she's on her way. Click HERE to help!

 

Winner!

As drawn randomly by Random.org, the winner is Mosprott! I'll email you privately....  Congrats! I hope you enjoy!

And now (in the morning), we're off to Disneyland. I CAN'T WAIT. I haven't been in so many years (maybe eight or so) and Lala hasn't been since she was EIGHT. It's going to be rad.

Also, I got Lush for Valentine's Day. Yum. Happy.

Celebration Giveaway

To honor the fact that How to Knit a Love Song will be in TARGET (*happy dance* happy dance*) I'm going to give away a copy of the Random House Australia version of the book, Eliza's Gift.

BECAUSE I GOT A STACK OF 'EM, PEOPLE! This has been a damn fine week.

All you have to do to be entered is make sure you're on my mailing list (don't worry, I haven't even sent out one announcement yet -- you haven't missed anything) -- sign up is to the right up there, or you can click here.

(There are only a few differences between the two books -- like spellings of words, for example. Color/colour, fiber/fibre. It might be best if a Candian wins, since they speak the language. Heh.*)

I'll draw a random winner on Sunday! Good luck!   

* Edited to add: HA! Pam TOTALLY gets points for this comnment:
Being Canadian I would endeavour to think that my humble behaviour might bring favour from my southern neighbour! It would be an honour if an author of your calibre, candour and demeanour would consider honouring me with a flavourful book full of fibre, fun and humour. Don’t let my ramblings colour your opinion...but somewhere deep inside you know that at least one copy needs to go to someone who’ll savour the flavours of your literary style! :) Pam
  

BIG NEWS

Such news I have for you. Where do I start? Oh, all right, I'll just dive right in.

Big Thing #1: Guess who chose How to Knit a Love Song as a Breakout book for April?

Wait for it....

TARGET!

I'm gonna be in Target! That's right! Boutique Tarjay! DUDE! That's HYOOGE!

I remember, when I first got the book deal, I was wandering the aisles of Target with Lala and I picked up a book and said longingly, "I wonder if I'll ever be here...." I thought maybe, if I ever sold enough books, if I ever did well enough, someday I might break into the sacred aisles located between electronics and toys. But instead, they picked me out of the blue. Why? I have no idea. (It might have everything to do with the fact that it's a GREAT COVER. I love my cover. Thanks, marketing and art department!) But oh, my god! Target! I'm walking on air.

Grin.

Big Thing #2: (of interest to SoCal residents)

I'm going to be reading with Crazy Aunt Purl! March 21st, 2pm, at the Knitter's Studio. Won't that be a hoot? Seriously. I think we'll have a blast, and if you're anywhere in the vicinity, you should come, because we'll tear it up. Either that or we'll both get stage fright and take off and go suitcase shopping together. But I think we'll give a good show.

What, you can't make it to LA? There are other things scheduled!

First,, no matter where you live, I'll be on the radio (listen live via the magic of the internets!) on Book Club Girl on March 17th, 7pm EST.

And then, LOOK AT ALL THIS! (I can hardly believe it myself. This is crazy weird, people. It's not me. I'm going to blush so hard it hurts. I'm blushing looking at it.)

Saturday March 6th - 3:30pm
Caps Restaurant, 144 Oak St, Brentwood, CA   
No reading, just a signing with other fabulous authors.

Tuesday March 16th   7pm
***  LAUNCH PARTY! ***
Bookshop West Portal, 80 West Portal Ave., San Francisco, CA

Sunday March 21nd   2pm
Knitter's Studio, 8118 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA
Special appearance with CRAZY AUNT PURL!

Saturday May 1st  11-2
Romantic Times Giant Book Fair ($5 cover)
Hyatt Regency, Columbus OH
SO MANY AUTHORS at this signing! OMG. You will be amazed.

Wednesday July 28th   5:30-7:30
RWA National Literary Signing
Gaylord Opryland Hotel, Nashville TN
Also, SO MANY AUTHORS. I will be a tiny little fish in a big pond. Come by.

Why I Love My Kindle

Or why, really, I love any e-book reader. This post isn't about why you should or shouldn't buy one reader over another. There are a million posts touting the various pros and cons of various readers over others. (I love the ease of the wireless of my Kindle, the e-ink, and the fact that I can download the book I want to read, from bed, after reading a free sample chapter.)

But what I didn't realize was how amazing it was going to be for the reading of manuscripts.

First: my own. I recently finished editor's revisions on Book Two. Instead of printing out 400 pages, I curled up in bed with my Kindle and read my book in the format I'm used to reading. Every time I found something that needed addressing, I either made myself a note on the Kindle using its little keyboard, or I reached over and pulled my laptop over (if I was feeling energetic) and made the change. This doesn't work, of course, for the editing of a first draft, when you need to mark up every single line, every word. But for this kind of work, it's perfect.

Second: others' manuscripts. I just finished reading a draft of my friend Cari's book. Okay. I've known her for probably seven or eight years, before she got her MFA, before she was a mother, before she moved from Brooklyn across country to the west coast. I knew she was a great writer -- I'd seen some of her short work, and I'd read excerpts. I thought I knew her voice.

But people. I knew nothing.

The book hasn't sold quite yet, but it will. And you'll read it someday, and I will jump around and tell everyone, I told you so. Now, I write commercial fiction, but I know from great lit'ture. This will win the big awards. I've never read a book like this before in my life, and while I was huddled over my Kindle, heaving with sobs (and I don't do that while reading -- I'm usually a pretty tough cookie, believe it or not), making the occasional note to pass on to her, I thought, "ISN'T THIS AMAZING? Technology has allowed me to receive this manuscript over email and convert it into a readable paperless form." And all this change has happened in the years since I've known Cari.

(Know what else? Cari can write circles around those high-falutin' literary folk who write Literary Stuff that left me cold after I got my MFA, and you know why? She has, along with the literary gorgeous prose, a plot that will blow your socks off. Stuff happens, and I swear I could hear foundations rocking under me as I clicked my little page-turner.)

I know it's awful. I know it's just a tease that you can't read it yet. But I love all this. It's like a miracle. A gol-danged bloody e-miracle. I'm blessed and lucky and if you're a writer, you should get an e-reader.

I want an iPad, too, someday. Ahem.

* Joy reminds me that you can download a PDF or .doc of a knitting pattern to the Kindle (or other devices) and have it right there. Nice.

** and yes, How to Knit a Love Song will be out on Kindle the day it releases, March 3rd. WOOT!

*** because I'm a dork, I'll totally buy it for my own Kindle. Heh.

Be Nice

When in doubt, be nice.

Isn't that all it comes down to? In just about everything? Just be nice. If someone asks you for help, and you can give it, give it. If you can't, you can't. But if you can, do. And ask for help yourself, when you need it (preferably before you really, really need it -- I always forget that part and end up asking a little too late. Hysteria never helps).

A reader just asked if I had an extra ball of yarn from an old project and then was surprised when I said yes and that I would mail it off to her (that is, if it IS the right ball of yarn -- the ball band is lost forever. Here's hoping). But why not? She can't possibly know the times that Ye Olde Blogge has come through for me and mine, in so many ways, in so many shapes, in so many forms. Just from people Being Nice.

Isn't it lovely?

Speaking of help received from people, the cat is still not trapped in Becca's trap, by the way. I think old damaged Julius Of The Block must have gone on to his next life. Wah. I hope it was quick. I pour some coffee out for the homey and give Willie a kiss. Digit sends a growl.

Today, I'm hoping it stays clear because I have a yen to get down the coast for some beach walking and some clam chowder. Yesterday, I had one of those fine, fine days where everything just worked. I got my taxes done (hooray! refund coming!), and then a surprise coffee with Pen Martha who gave me a writing idea like none before, then a working "nap" during which I figured out a trouble spot in Book Three (I don't like to take breaks between books -- I get bored). Then we went to the City and Lala's band (For Fear the Hearts of Men are Failing) played on Pirate Cat Radio, which was great fun (they're playing at the Plough and Stars on Saturday night! You should go even though I won't be there!), and then we got burritos and went home and watched You've Got Mail, which Lala had never seen. 

Just a great, nice day. From start to finish, tip to tail.  

Yay. I plan on having another one of those today. Yep. You have one too, okay?

Here Now

Right now, I am content.

Why can't I rest in this feeling more? It could have a lot to do with the fact that I just ate a bunch of chocolate (Riesen caramels), but I don't think so. It's just so.

It might be true that sometimes I do too much. Too fast. I don't relax well, if at all. I'm a bit of a whiner. And I know, theoretically, that I need to Be Here Now. But in practice, I'm a big Livin'-for-Tomorrow kinda gal.

Right now, I'm here. I love this feeling. It's good.

Other feelings:

Oh, the knitting ennui! Bah. I just can't ride the wave right now. How about you? I'm trying to finish up test-knitting a sweater for my book, so I can finish the pattern, so I can send it out to my test-knitter (hi, Kiyomi! Haven't forgotten you!), and I'm not a fan of knitting things twice, I suppose, especially miles of stockinette. Muddling through. Soooo slowly.

Sleepiness. I've been sleeping GREAT. Hoo boy. I could sleep right now. But I won't.

Reading. I've been reading constantly. One perk of being a (really-soon-to-be) Published Author and a member of RWA is that you get to judge the RITAs, which is biggest award in the romance industry. It's the Oscar of romance, if you will. And they SEND YOU FREE BOOKS*. Lots of them! I got eight! Good ones! Ones that were actually on my list to buy and read! And I only have about five weeks to read them, so I'm reading like crazy. I've read three so far, and I'm on the fourth. Three are GREAT. One was okay. Not bad odds, huh?

*One of the funniest moments was when I opened my box of books, and the very first book to slide out was my friend. partner-in-crime, and fellow PensFatales Sophie Littlefield's A Bad Day for Sorry. Out of 1200 books? I got hers? I returned it, because I'm honest, and I couldn't judge it without a conflict of interest ALTHOUGH I WANTED TO and you should totally read it because it was one of my favorite books of 2009. It's wonderful. It's crime fiction about the owner of a sewing shop, and it kicks ass, just like Sophie does.  

A taste of Sophie's book:

Whuppin' ass wasn't so hard, Stella Hardesty thought as she took aim with the little Raven .25 she took off a cheating son-of-a-bitch in Kansas City last month.

What was hard was making sure it stayed whupped.

Especially on a day when it hit a hundred degrees before noon. And you were having hot flashes. And today's quote on your Calendar For Women Who Do Too Much read Find serenity in unexpected places.

"Fuck serenity," Stella said. And she shot the trailer.

A Surprise for You!

Guess what! I have something for you! In celebration of the fact that I made Book Two all nice and pretty, and finished my editor's revisions (o frabjous day!) and just sent them off this morning, I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek into Book One!

Here you go. Enjoy.

(PS - no sign of Mr. Julius cat yet. Still waiting....)

Another Sad Cat

I'm at my desk, waiting for the humane trap outside to snap shut with a metallic clang. Hoping for it. Dreading it.

There's this big old tomcat in my neighborhood. He's a funny-looking guy, and he's been instrumental in the creation of many other funny-looking cats around here. He's battle-scarred and tough and walks by my office window in the mornings. I've always liked watching him go by -- cocky and self-assured. You know that kind of cat. He's part of the scene that passes in front of me while I'm typing, a handsome part.

Yesterday, he dragged himself by. I rushed out, and he was moving slowly enough that he couldn't even get away from me. He let me touch his head without hissing, and he had one badly damaged eye, and what appeared to be two broken legs (one front, one back) and maybe a broken pelvis. He was in extreme pain. But he picked up the pace and I followed him, begging him to stop (because I'm an idiot) and he led me right to the hole under our house that I've been looking for: We've been hearing cat(s) under the house for about four or five days. We thought they'd gone under there to mate and scream and yell, and when the rain let up, we were going to figure out how to fix the hole and make sure cats didn't make a permanent home down there, on the warm furnace.

Turns out it was him. Probably yelling in pain for the past few days.

I went inside and got cat food, and then went under the house into the crawl space. He was already on the furnace and hungry enough to let me put it right next to him. I sat with him as he ate.

Then I went up, covered myself in a LOT of clothing in case he fought viciously, got a big towel and a cat carrier, and went back down again.

He won. At one point, the towel was over him, and he was running around underneath the house, unable to shake it off, so there was just a big red towel streaking through the dirt.

It probably hurt him more, damn it.

He got out from under the house, and I spent the rest of the day freaking out, unable to bear the thought of my neighborhood friend living in that much pain.

Now, I hella heart Oakland, you know that. I love this town. But animal control, not so much. They are spread way too thin, and they just don't come out for things like injured cats. (Well, you can leave them the message. I've done it before. And nothing happens.) So I went down there. Waited in line. Asked about humane traps. And I was referred to a company that I could pay to come out to rid my home of unwanted raccoons. That's all they could do. A couple more places wouldn't answer their phones, and a few rescue agencies stated flat out they didn't loan traps.

I tweeted, hopelessly frustrated. 

And while I was crying in my car, barely having sent the last tweet, my phone rang in my hand. Becca offered me the use of her humane trap.

Knitters. They are teh awesome. Always.

Last night I caught an orange tom who really liked tuna and really hated me before I had to put the trap away to go to bed. But it's out there again now. I don't know if old Julius (yes, I accidentally named him while driving around yesterday) will make it back to our yard. He certainly doesn't trust me anymore. But I put it right by the opening to the crawl space, and tuna smells good....

And then, if I catch him, I'll have to have him put down, as fast as possible. There's no saving this kitty, that's pretty clear.

He's just one of those things that, in my mind, makes me Bigger Than Sad. You know? Because if I feel like this about this poor old cat, what about all the other cats? And what about the dogs? And the kids? And the people starving? And Haiti? And cancer? And... and...

Sometimes, I think it's good to have compassion, a lot of it, for one thing at a time. To try to ease that pain, if that's all you can do. Right here, right now. (Shit! I keep hearing the trap snap, but when I check, nothing's happened. Phantom snapping.) 

And that's all I've got right now. Carry on. I'll keep you posted. Kiss your furry things, and your people, too, for that matter. xoxo

I'm So Excited

And no, you guessed right. I just can't hide it.

Romantic Times gave How to Knit a Love Song four stars, calling it "intricate and clever" with "down-home sense." (If only that were MY description. Wouldn't it be lovely to be described like that?)

Let me explain, my knittin' chickens. Reviews don't matter. That's what they say. And someday, I like to think they won't matter to me. People buy books because they're in the store, or because someone (a friend) tells them about them.

But I was worried about this review. This was the one I was waiting for. I feel like I can exhale now.

 

(At BART, in Beth's hat.)

BIG NEWS

I HAVE A LAUNCH PARTY DATE, and you should mark your calendars if you're going to be anywhere near the area, because you're invited. YES, YOU! 

Oh, yowza! It's going to be MY LAUNCH PARTY, and OHMYGOD, have we been waiting for this, or what?

March 16th! TUESDAY! 

Bookshop West Portal, San Francisco. Time to be announced, keep your eye right here.

Will you drop a comment or email me if you think you might make it? I'd like to keep a (rough) headcount so I know how much cheese and crackers to buy.

And DUDES! There's going to be a kick-off at that party for a raffle giveaway that is SO COOL (that ALL y'all will be able to get in on afterward, whether you're there or not, don't worry), so you don't want to miss it if you can help it.

*

And hey, other places I'll be that I know about so far:

May 1st, Romantic Times, Columbus, OH

July 31st, RWA, Nashville, TN

I'm hoping for Rhinebeck or maybe even a pop-in at Maryland, but I can't say that either of those will happen. (But wouldn't it be cool if they did?)

And does anyone live in/near Boise? We're planning on coming through at the end of March to see the in-laws, and it would be great to set up a reading there... Hmmm?

WOOT!

Of Cats and Kings

Oooh, hi. I missed you. I really did. I've been missing you and unable to get to the blog, and getting here and typing feels like a relief.

Ahhh. Let's take a moment. Pull up a chair. Have a cup of coffee. Listen to those angry baby birds outside. I hope to God they're not pigeons in the roof eaves (I think we got rid of those, but damn, they're stubborn). (Isn't eaves a nice word? I love that word.)

Fair warning: I'm rambly today. Know why?

I finished my editor's revisions yesterday on Book Two! WOOOOOOT!

This is exciting. I've been working my ass off, seriously, I might have mentioned that. I've been lucky enough to have been able to take some time off this last month from the J.O.B. to work on the revisions, but I've still been working 12 hour shifts, and then, on my days off, I work 9 to 11 hours on revising. Without a break. Every day. It's a blessing and a curse, being a dispatcher, trained to work so long without taking breaks -- I'm used to Just Working.

But yesterday, can we talk about yesterday for a moment? You know that state of flow people talk about? The elusive zone? I think it's right up there with the runner's high. Sure, when I was running regularly, running used to make me feel pretty darn good, but I was always wondering, is this the high? Is this it? Then, one day, when training for the marathon, I think I was at mile thirteen, and I hit it. All the endorphins flooded my brain, and it was one of the best feelings I've ever had. I had it, and I knew it. I could have run forever, and it lasted a good three miles. I was floating, dancing, ephemeral. It was AWESOME. (Then of course, the pain hit. Oh, God.)

Yesterday, I hit the zone. I woke up early, knowing I'd finish the book. The ending, which I still had to write, was completely new, and totally drama-filled (we're talking death-defying plunges and will-she-make-it moments). I sat at my desk and lost myself for nine hours. Usually, when I work nine hours, I'm COMPLETELY CONSCIOUS of it. I can look up at say, HEY! I've worked four hours and thirty-two minutes, go me. Yesterday, there was no me. There was just the story.

I've been reading this awesome book, The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin, and she talks about the fog of happiness, and how it translates to both parenting and writing. Now, I wouldn't know about the first, and the book is far away in a room where one person and three dogs are sleeping, so forgive the paraphrasing, but she says that the fog of happiness is very real. Parenting, as a whole, is full of things that aren't very fun. Lots of things that no one enjoys. So is writing. Sure, we love (or some of us do), the networking, and the thinking about writing, and the reading about writing, but there are few of us who really enjoy the getting in there and getting it done. Sitting at the desk, day after day after bloody day and writing. More writing. And then more. And yet, when we look back at it, when we think about it (and this is what she says about parenting, too), they're some of our richest, happiest feelings. They're surrounded by a fog of happiness, even if a lot of the time the kid is a punk and you can't write your way out of a paper bag*. 

But not yesterday. Yesterday was bliss. Honestly. Right down to where I wrote The End and brought out my old Epilogue and found out that it fit, exactly, every word, as if what I'd written had been directed this way, the whole time (and it had been, I know it).

Now, just some clean up to do, and some critique partners' eyes going over it, and then, after they look at it, some more clean up, and it'll go back out to my editor. I'm proud of this.

And the first book is SO close now, isn't it? T-minus 5 weeks! Would you like an excerpt later this week? I have one all queued up to give you (one you've never seen -- I think you'll like it. It's yarny). 

And on a totally different subject: I have to tell you this. We girls met my dad's girlfriend this weekend. Lola. (Lala and Lola! Ha!) And we were nervous, but we had the Let's Get this Over With mentality and Have a Nice Dinner attitude. They drove up from down south, and we met them at the restaurant.

She. Was. A. Doll. I'm so happy for my dad. She reminded me of me, in the way that I can run at the mouth (in a good way!) when I'm nervous and say anything that comes to mind, and in that she has a strong, loving personality and huge laugh (we were a boisterous table, so much so that a woman came over and asked my father how he'd been so lucky to end up with all these women). They've been together a while now, and already have stories, and I really liked hearing the way they told them together. Then at the end, Lola said something that absolutely endeared her to me (not that she hadn't already) -- she confessed that she'd been SO nervous before coming that she'd asked my dad to duct tape her feet so that she wouldn't stick them in her mouth. For some reason, I'd only thought about us, the kids, being nervous. It hadn't occurred to me that she, the ostensible Adult (hello, I'm 37!) would be nervous, too, and duh! She was meeting FOUR of us, and we were only meeting one of her! She was so brave!

And she reads my blog, so hi, Lola! And hi to your work partners, and I'm so glad I got to meet you. Keep my dad in line, okay? Don't let him blow anything up, please. Thanks.

Geez. I TOLD you I was long-winded. It's POURING out there, and the cats are running all over the furniture in their regular early morning aerobic session (DAMN, I MISSED YOGA -- whoops) and I guess, since I'm not going to yoga, I'll just work on cleaning up the manuscript some more. 

* Bethany reminded us at dinner that Dad used to silkscreen her paper lunch sacks with Joe's Mortuary and Meat House. Heh.