Wednesday's Words from Almost Comfortable Skin #15

#15 Terminal boredom is much worse than being too busy.




(Wednesdays Words come from either personal experience or observed situations that have settled into the thought patterns that make me who I am.)

Sept. 27, 2010

I got the tracking number for my shipment of Clyde books today!!!! It's amazing how each new thing actually gives you a little case of the butterflies even though you know it's coming. At this rate the poor UPS man should probably wear ear plugs when he brings the actual box of books (tomorrow??? Wednesday at the latest... hopefully tomorrow...). He may also want to have a plan for getting back in his truck quickly to escape - I'm probably as bad with a new book as I was with the kids baby pictures! (okay, maybe worse actually)

So anyway, goals for this week are a little tricky and need to work around each other and the hope that the layout was right and the printing went as well as I believe it did. The main thing is to go introduce Clyde the Undead Dust Bunny to a couple of stores who carry Fiddlebug so that they can decide whether they would like to help her meet her future adoring fans. I also need to set up my sales tracking sheets (I HATE this part and am hoping to pawn it off on Scott because he loves me and is much, MUCH better with the process than I am.) I've also got to get her logged into the store on my website ( www.brittneycassity.com ) and probably a million other things that I'm forgetting right now. So I'm just going to spend the week getting Clyde situated - which sounds absolutely perfect to me!

See you with an update on Friday!
p.s. You get a sneak peak of one of the interior illustrations for the book. I decided to go with black and white line drawings at the beginning of each chapter instead of color illustrations because I felt they fit the book's 3rd - 5th grade target audience and the feel of the book itself better.

September 24, 2010

A Dust Bunny is BORN!!! Clyde is currently at the printer's and her status says she is in the binding stage. Good thing they are referring to the book and not the character, 'cause I'm not sure Clyde is able to be bound! I'm really excited about this and can't wait until the book gets here! I'm hoping that the copies I ordered will arrive by Wednesday - and I'm hoping that they look as wonderful as I think they are going to. Once I'm sure they do, I'll get her up at the store on my website ( www.brittneycassity.com ). I'm looking at an October 1st release date.

So for now I'm going to go enjoy the weekend! See you again on Monday!

Wednesday's Words from Almost Comfortable Skin #30

For The Birthday Hubby!

#30 “Dessert?” “YES!!!”



(Wednesdays Words come from either personal experience or observed situations that have settled into the thought patterns that make me who I am.)

August 20, 2010

This week is ALL about BIRTHDAYS!!!! My dad and my father-in-law share the 21st as their big day, and my wonderful hubby came into the world on the 22nd! Add to this the fact that I'm truly hoping to birth Clyde's book by the end of the week, and you'll see that there's a LOT of celebrating to do! I can't think of better things to be on my way too either!
I hope you all enjoy your week... and don't forget to have some cake!

(The picture of Scott was taken in Ohio last month - I thought the ice cream would be good for his birthday week)

August 17, 2010

First, let me begin with the age old "I have some good news, and some bad news." The odd thing is that what I'm going to share is both of those. Clyde is home, accompanied by a very nicely worded rejection letter from Candlewick Press. I would like to add that the letter left me thinking just as highly of Candlewick as a publisher as I did prior to querying them - which is pretty highly. From some of the rejection letters I've seen (both mine and my friend's) this says a lot about the company and the people who work there. I just want to share that because I think it's very important to point out when someone does something right instead of giving the attention to bad behavior. I still want to one day write something that will fit their list well, and intend to hold that as one of my goals.
So I took the time to sniffle and eat chocolate and get that part out of my system.
Now the important part: Why this is such a GOOD thing. Well, that's easy. It means that Clyde is back in my hot little hands. Let me tell you, I am MORE THAN READY to get her in her book! The butterflies have already started fluttering in the pit of my stomach; the list of editing checks has started rolling in my head; the last minute decision on who I'm going through for the physical book is about to be made. Clyde the Undead Dust Bunny is very, VERY close to being born. Just in time for Halloween too - what luck! Maybe that was her plan all along! Characters hijack the story and turn it to their will all the time, ask any writer. Maybe she also took the timing into her own hands. All I know is that I feel a huge sense of relief like someone moved a mountain out of the road I'm trying to go down, and I'm happy.
In smaller (but no less important) update type news: I decided I've got two characters who need to swap books. As I said, characters hijack stories all the time. These two just happened to decide that they would fit better in each others than in their own. Making that adjustment took up my 4 hours of writing time, but I'm counting it anyway. I've been stuck on both stories for a while, this may solve the problem. I did get all of the Sophie's Sneeze projects done and the September newsletter is ready and waiting for the end of September to go into the store.
With all of the real world stuff I've been doing this week, I'm rather happy with the literary progress.
Now it's time to go get ready for labor and delivery! I'm hoping to post price and ordering information by the end of next week! (happy dance!!!!!)

Wednesday's Words from Almost Comfortable Skin #7

#7 Be very careful of who you follow – they may not be going where they say they are.








(Wednesdays Words come from either personal experience or observed situations that have settled into the thought patterns that make me who I am.)

Sept. 13, 2010

Happy Monday to you! I'm sure there are grumbles going on out there about those two words being so close together in the same sentence, but look at it this way, if you start out thinking it's going to be good, you'll get to skip at least one groan for the day. That's my new theory anyway - call it lunatic optimism, blind faith or denial if you like, but I'm sticking to it!
This weeks On My Way to It list is really just a repeat of last weeks since I didn't make it to the end of that particular tunnel yet. At least the light at the end of it is still shining brightly and I don't hear too many monsters shuffling around in the tunnel with me! So just to restate, I've got 4 hours of new writing and 3 Sophie's Sneeze projects to get done this week. Oh, and a new writer's group to check out on Wednesday since the one in Lewisburg has decided to take a break until the new year rolls in. It's looking like that list may be done in the kitchen this week too as I managed to close out my garden (aside from a few cherry tomatoes that are still coming on) and need to get things put up for the winter. It wasn't a great garden year, but what did come in came in well and I'm thankful for it!
So off I go into the week ahead! See you again Wednesday and Friday!
(The picture: Some of the reasons I'm becoming the crazy cat lady checking out the curve on the back corner of the deck prior to the first coat of paint... which they of course had to leave paw prints in when it went on!)

Sept. 10, 2010

Mundane world intrusions into my literary life happened all week. The good news is that there is a LARGE amount of pesto in my freezer, 3 of the flower beds look absolutely gorgeous in my opinion, and a person can walk all the way around my house on the newly laid decking. I also got about 2 1/2 hours of writing in and left off at a good spot to continue just as soon as I can get back to my pen and paper (yes, you read that right, I do the rough draft the old fashioned way most of the time). I still need to put the next 3 Sophie's Sneeze projects together, write them out and take pictures, but I do know what they are going to be at least, so I'm looking at it as a partial victory!
All in all, not a bad week from where I'm standing. Not perfect, but hey, perfect is boring, right? I'm hoping to catch up the straggling ends of what I meant to get done over the weekend and be back here with some new stuff come Monday. Until then, enjoy this gorgeous weather!!!!!!!!

(Picture: See, I TOLD you I got something done this week!)

Wednesday's Words from Almost Comfortable Skin #22

In honor of my weeding and mulching plans for the week....



#22 One woman’s weed is another woman’s flower!


(Wednesdays Words come from either personal experience or observed situations that have settled into the thought patterns that make me who I am.)

Sept. 6, 2010

Happy Labor Day to All! My friend Theresa Flerx posted a beautiful tribute to the generosity and support her co-workers have shown her during some very rough patches in her life today on her blog. http://blog.tflerxanecdotalist.com/ I thought I would share it with you. I think it's a beautiful example of the 'pull-together' attitude of American workers. You should check it out!
As for me, I'm planning to do my updates and then spend the day outside in the beautiful just-this-side-of-fall weather. I LOVE this time of year! Being outside will work great for me too since one of my goals for this week is to get all of September's Sophie's Sneeze page projects done. I've got a wonderful nature craft theme going this month, so outside if just the place to make some major progress.
I'm also On My Way To 4 hours or new writing this week. Not editing, not re-reading, not researching... WRITING. Since I've been missing the actual writing side of my writing life, I'm hoping I don't sit here at my desk staring off into space because I'm out of practice (laughing).
Those are really my only two literary-type goals for the week. The mundane world gets the rest of my time for closing the garden and dealing with the veggies found there, weeding and mulching, and helping the boys with school.
I just keep reminding myself to balance!
Remember to check in on Wednesday for the new Wednesday's Words from Almost Comfortable Skin post, and I'll see you here on Friday to let you know whether I met my goals or not! Enjoy your week!
(hmmm maybe I should add "Take some new pictures" to my list since I'm having to dig deep for pictures to post here, and it seems like I'm down to my artwork folder and running out of that too!)

Sept. 3, 2010

Here's to a successful beginning to September! This week surprised me a little. There was entirely too much going on, but it all seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces for a change. I'm so thankful for how smoothly it went! Added perks were that I found out I had 4 books sell at Kitten's Korner in White Sulphur Springs, WV. (Great store for unique holiday gifts if you're in the area by the way!) It always makes me happy when another book finds it's home!
Now I'm off to see what this Labor Day Weekend holds. I'm hoping for the grill to be involved at least a little! I'll still be posting new goals on Monday. Stop by and let me know what you're on your way too as well!
(picture of Nymphie studiously ignoring an outside cat who's is out of sight below the windowsill)

Wednesday's Words from Almost Comfortable Skin #1

#1 Being friends with a goldfish means constantly having to tap on the glass to keep their attention.




(Wednesdays Words come from either personal experience or observed situations that have settled into the thought patterns that make me who I am.)