Counting My Blessings…

…and lo, they are boundless. Yesterday’s event at Chop Suey Books was beyond fantastic. I not only got to meet new people, spent time with established friends, and sold a few books–I spent just about six hours talking about writing and creativity and making jokes with a group of very talented and dedicated folks. This kind of day is why I get out of bed in the morning… so, a big, big, THANK YOU to:

Chop Suey Books, for being the gracious hosts (and for hopefully inviting me back again in the future!);

Office Depot of Williamsburg, for donating supplies for the workshop portion of the talk;

Kilwin’s of Williamsburg, for donating fantastic fudge and freebie giveaways;

Harry & David of Williamsburg, for donations which I was regrettably unable to pick up due to a combination of timing errors on my part, but which I am sure would have been amazingly yummy;

My Marvelous Minions, Amy, Chris, and Rich, for supplying water, pack-mule capacity, and super-friendly-creative-humor-wonderfulness all around;

Leila, Kristie, and Beth, the Sarcastic Broads (a Richmond, VA writer’s group) who turned out to participate and support (along with Leila’s mom, who I’m really glad chose to come out with Leila–wonderful lady, that);

Bud and Mary, for making the haul into town and being so wonderfully patient, good-humored, knowledgeable, funny, and supportive;

And last but hardly least, Catherine, a member of Bud’s writing group, who I did not get to speak with nearly as much as I would have liked (she wasn’t the only one, though), but whom I’m very, very glad I got to meet! (Did I get those who’s and whom’s right? I’m feeling lazy/exhausted right now. I’ll look it up later…)

I can also point to a couple more items of special gratitude: Leila, as it turns out, is a first rate truffle maker…and brought me several samples! (ohhh they are yummmy) … and in addition to how really, amazingly cool of a store Chop Suey Books turned out to be, it’s in a prime location: right across the street from a restaurant called New York Deli (no, not the same as the one in Williamsburg), which has really really good food… and the prices aren’t bad at all (the sandwiches are huge). So it’s a quick walk across the street for fantastic nosh and you can hop back over to Chop Suey Books to continue browsing. Win all around…

So… those are just a few of my blessings this weekend. Without all of those friends and supporters, I would have merely been sitting alone in a dreary room being sad. With all of these folks, it was absolutely a smash success and one that I will smile about for a long time to come!

My final counted blessing today is my quiet house and my nice chunk of Sunday free time in which to sleep off all this fun …

Thank you to all, and to all a good–*faceplant zzzz*

 

Recap and Forecast

First of all, my apologies. I promised to post a “what’s new” type post on the first of every month; problem is, I’ve been down so sick for the past three weeks that several priorities have rearranged themselves in my head, with “sleep” at the top of the new list. But that’s not an excuse. It is an apology. So, moving right along….

Last month

I did some really cool stuff, like attending MarsCon 2011 and sitting on panels with author Jim Butcher, Baen editor Laura Haywood-Cory, and author Allen Wold; not to mention chatting with awesome folks like Danny Birt, Chuck Gannon, Lord Montague, and Lord Ramirez. (If you don’t know who those last few people are, you really need to come to MarsCon 2012 and meet them; they’re regulars and they’re all terrifically interesting.) After MarsCon…well, I was ill. I actually had to cancel a book signing at the College of William and Mary Bookstore, which upset me no end; I did manage to drag myself out to Virginia Beach the following weekend for a presentation on writing a novel, hosted by Cozy Corner Books, a recent arrival on the Virginia Beach bookstore scene (editing note: Cozy Corner is now out of business). That wiped me out for three days, during which I slept for twelve to fifteen hours and wrote while in bed as often as I could make myself function. Illness is terrible for business appearances but great for writing…the novel I’m working on is now over 110K words and I’ve blown through about three significant “stuck” points in the past week.

This month

Looking forward, I’d better start taking that Emergen-C, because as soon as I can get on my feet I’ll be running full tilt again. This weekend I’m scheduled to start teaching a writing class at Cozy Corner Books. Next Saturday afternoon is the rescheduled book signing at the College of William and Mary Bookstore, from 2-6 pm (latest I’ve ever done a book signing; I hope lots of people come out to say hello! I’d love to chat with friends I haven’t seen for a while). The weekend after that, I’ll be driving up to New Jersey with a carful of supportive minions to run my first vendor table at the Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire, under the Mercury Retrograde Press banner. Which means I’ll be selling books for all the Mercury Retrograde Press authors, not just mine; which I’m doing because I honestly think they’re all terrific. And no, I don’t get a kickback for saying that…

The following month, March, starts out with me heading out to play at SheVA Con; they’re the first con to ever contact me with an unsolicited invitation, which still tickles me no end. I’m looking forward to seeing what this convention is like; I’ve heard a lot about it!

After SheVA, I’m headdownfullspeed into preparations for not one, but THREE book launches in a row–the Official Launch Party is at Coco Chocolatier of Newtown (editing note: Coco Chocolatier is now out of business–this is becoming a pattern…) in Williamsburg on April 2, but the good folks at RavenCon have offered me a spot to hold a mini book launch on the following weekend. And then Cozy Corner wanted in on the action, so I’m running a Virginia Beach book launch there on the third weekend of April. Naturally they all require different flyers. Naturally they all require different advertising. And naturally I’ll be losing my mind and having a blast doing it….

And finally, to close April out, I will be celebrating ten unbelievably weird and complicated and wonderful years of being married. This is quite possibly the most exciting thing coming up on my calendar, and the most incredible. Ten years is a huge milestone for both of us! We’re very proud of ourselves and of each other; we’ve helped each other grow and mature, loosened up and learned to laugh, become more disciplined and organized, all at the same time.  And we couldn’t have done it without the support of a boatload of fantastic, loyal, creative, innovative, and flat out peculiar friends and family members–so to all of you out there who fit that description, thank you.

Oh, I almost forgot–I have a guest blog post over on Jhada Addams’s blog coming up at some point soon, and Steven Savage, author of the Fan To Pro blog, Seventh Sanctum, and two books, has signed on as a regular blogger. His posts will be appearing on the 5th and the 20th of every month, so be sure to stop by and check those out! Better yet, subscribe to this blog through Facebook or email, and never miss a post.

 

Signing at the Mystic Moon

I don’t normally use this space to talk about my book signings; but this one was exceptional. I arrived early and was privileged to watch a troupe of belly dancers practicing (I got photos, even a short video; I will post as soon as I get permission and enough info to do so). After they finished and I set up, Debbie and Brian, the owners of the Mystic Moon in Norfolk, went out of their way to be graciously welcoming and kind; I couldn’t have asked for better company! One of the regulars was also holding a birthday party for her daughter out back of the shop, which brought a lot of people in, and brings me to the uniqueness of this signing: it’s not just a store, it’s a community. A very family-tight, loving community, who all know one another — and who remember me, to a surprising extent, from the few times I’ve come out for drum circles and campouts (always wonderful, by the way). Even though most of the people were there for psychic readings, the birthday party, or the belly dancing practice, everyone stopped by my table to talk and listen to me; several bought a copy, and at least one had already read the book and wanted to know when book two would be out! I was really humbled and grateful to be so welcomed by such open-armed warmth, and I seriously hope to return sometime soon.

By the way, the Moon is currently collecting school items for kids who need some help with the basic supplies; if you’re in the area, please do stop by and donate even a box of pencils or a pack of paper; every little bit counts!

Thank you to everyone who came by the Moon and made me feel so welcome this past Saturday; thank you for reminding me that there is a level of generosity and warmth that I had nearly forgotten exists in the world.

Namaste, and may we meet again soon!