It's been awhile...

I know. I KNOW. I really am not very good at this. My little blog has suffered since I've basically switched my attention over to Facebook, where it is a bit easier and quicker to post updates (follow my Zenn Diagram page HERE). But I thought I'd do a quick check-in so this place doesn't become completely obsolete. I am paying for the domain name, after all...

So ... Where did we leave off? Oh, right! Back in April, I announced that my book was being published by the awesome new teen imprint at Kids Can Press (KCP Loft) and that my editor is the AMAZING Kate Egan (editor of the Hunger Games series!)! Since then, I've been lucky enough to work with Kate on editing my story (she really is a magician, I tell you), as well as copy editing, proofreading, etc. Basically, this mostly involves me reading and rereading it a bunch of times and tweaking, fine tuning, looking for errors/typos, etc. Tedious work, but I kind of love that sort of thing. Especially if it means I'm a step closer to my book becoming a reality.

I've had my author photo taken (thank you Cindy Kennedy!), which was horrible and wonderful and completely out of my comfort zone. As unphotogenic as I am, Cindy worked her miracles and we actually had a few options. I don't know how models do it, you guys. Seriously. Soooo awkward for me.

And you guys -- I have seen my cover/book jacket, and it is amazing. AMAZING! Guh! I can't share it just yet, but I can tell you that I absolutely LOVE it. It is exactly what I pictured when I dreamed of what my book might look like from the start. Seriously, I am so, so very thrilled and can't wait to show you!

Next steps: I believe my book (along with the other three that KCP is publishing in the spring: Just a Normal Tuesday by Kim Turrisi, Textrovert by Lindsey Summers, and Keeping the Beat by Marie Powell and Jeff Norton) is shipping off to the printer any day now, and Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) will be out in October sometime. That is the moment I really might cry -- when I hold an actual book with my name on the cover. I get a little woozy just thinking about it.

ARCs are kind of the book preview -- an early version that the publisher sends out to librarians and booksellers and bloggers to try to get people to read it, love it, and share it. They are soft cover versions but they'll look pretty much like the real thing. KCP Loft people will be taking these babies to various conferences and talking them up to people in the know. I don't know about you, but that's enough to make me feel more than a little bit anxious.

So, yeah. The anxiety is kicking in a little bit, now. What if no one likes it? What if I only sell a handful of copies to friends and family? What if this is my only shot? But more than the anxiety is the excitement: What if ... what if I get to write and publish more books? What if people connect with my story and my characters? What if I inspire someone else to follow their dream? Those are the "what ifs" I prefer to think about.

I will try to get over here and post periodic updates, but follow me on Facebook to make sure you don't miss any big news. I'm at 175 followers and would LOVE to get to 200 this month! A girl can dream, right? (I'm hoping it will be amusing someday to look back and read that I once had only 175 followers.)

And thank you, as always, for all of your support -- it truly means so much to me.