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.

A Long Winter

I’m in the middle of my work week here, and I feel the need to write a post. It’s been a pretty hectic week – lots of stories going on, rushing around from here to there. I’m tired, and I’ll be honest – since my last post, I haven’t read a single line from any of the books I’ve mentioned. Though, to be fair, that was my spring reading list. And it’s been just about anything but spring here in Central Oregon. It’s the longest winter that I can remember since I’ve lived here.

So, what I’m saying is that it’s been hard keeping a positive outlook on everything.

Sales for Drowning in the Dark haven’t been bad, but I want more. I’ve finished my first draft of the sequel, and am now in the process of revising and editing. That’s always the part I hate the most – where you have to go over your work and look at every detail. It drives me nuts! Though, it’s probably the most important part of the whole thing.

I’m shooting for the first week of May for the sequel to come out. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get the trilogy out in time for my birthday in July, but it will for sure be ready by October. Bring on Halloween!

I guess you just have to realize that you have up days, and you have down days with this business, and the trick is just to ride ‘em out. So that’s what I’m gonna do. It’s just about keeping your eyes on the prize – no matter what.

And, it’s not really so bad – we’re onto the latter half of the week, and at least we’re moving away from the cold weather. Or that’s what the Calendar’s saying anyway.

I hope it’s gonna be a long, hot summer…