Saturday Morning Thoughts

Alright, since the main blog page has been stuck on the Cucumber Lemongrass Basil liqueur photo for the last two weeks, I thought it was high time I put in a blog entry!

The last two weeks have been a series of ups and downs. Ups with some major breakthroughs in the second Drowning in the Dark book, some good reviews, some good weekends with early summer beers and good friends. Downs with some mediocre reviews of Drowning in the Dark, struggling to finish my second editing run through of the second book, and feelings of being trapped and my youth disappearing into my 9-5 job. I’m turning 24 next month, and lately I’ve been overcome with the thought that I’m getting so old! Stupid, I know. Everybody tells me it’s a stupid thought, that I’m in my prime, etc. etc. But sometimes, it feels like things are going by fast. Very, very fast.

Anyway, it’s probably best not to think so much about things you can’t control. Best to just take things one day at a time. Reviews are like that too -- things that are out of my control. Sometimes that’s hard though, and hard not to take the mediocre ones personally. But, it’s good to have some perspective with it. It’s another person’s opinion, coming from a completely different angle. The only thing I can do is make sure I put my best into the book, which I feel that I’ve done, and will continue to do with the sequels and other series. And as long as I know that, I’m good.

One of the benefits of the reviews, though, is that I’m learning more about the audience and market, which is always helpful. Some reviewers have had some very excellent insight into the book, which will definitely help me with my future ones!

Anyways, those are some of my thoughts on a Saturday morning after a couple of bumpy weeks. But thankfully, I’ve got the entire weekend ahead of me to enjoy. Today I’m making Cherry Mojitos from Cathy Kasey’s Northwest Table cookbook, which is pretty amazing. Everything I’ve made from that book is just dynamite, and I’m sure the Cherry Mojitos will be too. I’ll post some photos of them later today or tomorrow. Also, this weekend marks the official end to the four-week infusion process of the liqueurs, which means I get to strain and bottle them finally. And drink them too! I hope they’ve been worth the wait!

You Had Your Red Rainslicker On...

Greetings from a drizzly Sunday evening in Central Oregon. Right now, I’m looking out the front window of my house, watching pink flowering trees sway in wind against the backdrop of a grove of Junipers. You step outside, and the whole desert smells of damp juniper. It was pouring most of the day, and it has been nice just hanging out, watching the desert come to life in the fresh spring rain.

So the past few weeks, I’ve been e-mailing the book review bloggers, asking them to review Drowning in the Dark. I figure it will be good timing, because my next book in the series will be out shortly, and it would be good to have some reviews of the first one. So far, I’ve got close to 30 who have agreed to review the book. So now, I’m just in the waiting part of it. I’ve become kind of obsessive about it – googling my name at least three times every day to see if anyone’s posted anything yet. It’s become shameful.

Part of me is ecstatic that so many book bloggers are/will be reading my book and providing a review of it. At the same time, I can’t help but feel a little nervous. I guess it’s never easy putting yourself out there, but I’m looking forward to hearing what people think of the book!

So in light of my recent google obsessions, I tried to stay away from the computer as much as I could this weekend. It wasn’t too hard because I had to work on Saturday. Today, I spent the day working on a flurry of projects. I made the beginnings of what will be three different liqueurs. A Limencello, a Basil/Cucumber/Lemongrass infused Vodka, and an Apple Pie liqueur. The first two take about four weeks of infusing, so I won’t know how they turn out until next month. I will have to write a posting about them when I’m finished, and I’ll add the recipes to my Spirits page then too (if they end up being good, that is.)

I also did a little gardening, and I made a Key Lime Pie, too. Sufficient to say, I pooped myself in my attempt to stay away from google. But, I had fun doing it J

Anyways, I’ve decided that it’s high time that I get back to work on my book. Maybe I’ll just restrict my access to the internet so I don’t become tempted to google myself anymore.