I am so scattered right now. Yesterday was a scramble to make copyediting changes as my editor emailed them to me 50 pages at a time, followed by a mad dash over to FedEx in time to overnight the manuscript to New York. Whew! It felt kind of like a reality show, say, Project Runway, with a ludicrous deadline where you just feel so sorry for the contestants. Here's a snippet off a conversation [honest-to-god almost verbatim] that shows just how sympathetic my editor was to my plight.Me: I think you're going to give me a heart attack. If I have a heart attack, I won't be able to FedEx you the manuscript.
Editor: That's okay. I'm sure Jim will FedEx it to me.
Me: What?!? Jim will be busy driving me to the hospital!!!
Editor: There must be a FedEx drop-off on the way to the hospital.
hahaha, I kid you not! But that's all done now. WHEW! And the book is actually up on Amazon! Crazy!
I really really want to just drop out of society now and work on the current book. I even looked into the possibility of an off-season beach house rental, just as a fantasy yesterday. To go to the windy foggy beach for a month with Jim and the weary old hounds and have fires going all day and write and write and write. Ah... heaven! But you know what? Once I got started looking at the actual rental houses in our favorite Oregon beach town, I was discouraged. This relates back to my color post. These rental houses have NO COLOR in them anywhere. They're ugly and depressing inside. I don't know if I could live in one for a month, with ugly wood paneling and brown plaid couches and such, even if it IS a block from the beach! We would consider going away to a little cottage in Mexico or something instead, but we don't want to leave our geriatric dogs. Sigh.This is very sad: Shiloh, my husky who I've had for eleven years and who might even sort of like me by now, she has been sneezing blood. I did not know this but dogs get tumors in their nasal passages. This may not be that, I'm telling myself it's allergies, and meanwhile we're going back to the vet again tomorrow. Unfortunately, there is not a blood test for cancer in pets like there is for humans. But I'm hoping for the best. Her cookie appetite is unimpaired, at any rate.
In other unrelated babblings: saw the movie Half Nelson today. Damn good!
19 comments:
if you haven't seen Step Up yet, perhaps we could see it together in portland in a couple of weeks!
and goodness, i hope shiloh is ok. we've been to the vet already since moving...it's always so worrisome when our pets get ill!
and most importantly, WOOHOO for the book being up on amazon! you sounded like a very busy woman yesterday! thanks to jim for the good info yesterday!
Congratulations on the book!
If I ever come to America we could buy lots of paint and go around at night brightening things up in those beach houses.
See, I told you I would be wide awake again by the time I drove home! CONGRATS on getting the final draft behind you- a huge ginormous accomplishment of epic proportions. I'm keeping sweet Shiloh in my heart's thoughts and hope he is going to be okay. I'm glad to know he still has his cookie appetite. BTW, there IS a Fed-ex drop off at Kinko's you can use on your way to Providence Hospital!
Well done on all your hard work - sit back and enjoy the success when its published. Love the idea of guerilla house painting attacks - can I join the fun?
oh you are FABULOUS!!!! you did it you did it you did it! kisses all around-- I do hope you find a good quiet (colorful) place to squirrel away and write the next book-- I can just feel it's there ready to spill onto the page.
I am so happy for you. What a tremendous accomplishment!
~bluepoppy
Good Job Laini!
I agree too about the Manzanita beach houses, we rented one 2 years ago and it was so bleak.. white, grey and ugly furniture. So uninspiring! They all seem to be like that, don't they?
Cheers,
Jennifer and Camille :)
Even if the houses were dark...you'd be in deep hibernation in your creative universe anyway. The beach, the wind, the spouse, the hounds...sounds pretty inspiring to me???
Your love of color inspires me-
i need you mail some paint
chips for small house walls.
I think a beach house rental is
enchanting.
Hope your puppy is ok:(
(i love my dog to bits)
and your editor sounds
terrific!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats on the book, I am so joining the house painting special forces group. My apartment will be the first stop, just ask Alex it needs some paint badly.
How cool is it to see your book's ISBN? :) Yay for you! And I'm so impressed that even after all the hard work on the first book all you want to do is write the second!
I've been thinking about writing some more fiction pieces based on some of our conversation from the other night. Thanks for being an inspiration to keep up with it!
Congratulations about the book! Yay, Lainie!
And I'm imagining you as a colour sprite, staying at those cottages and when no one's looking twitching your nose and flicking your tail and transforming the drab into colourful confections!
And sending lots of love and healing energy to Shiloh. I'll send her some Reiki.
Wishing the best for Shiloh.
But as for you, congratulations! I took a peek at the Amazon listing. You must be so proud of yourself and deservedly so!
That's a very funny exchange with your editor. Thanks for sharing it.
Enjoy your weekend, you published author you! (Well done!)
Oh, I was thinking how cool it would be to get away for a month to a beach house to write...*sigh!*
But the color thing. Yeah, I get that.
I hope your doggy will be okay! If it helps, we were told our kitty had cancer was going to die, like, seven years ago. She is going strong. I don't know what that was about!
:)
Hope the vet visit goes well today.
Animal family members are so important - I'm praying for your Shiloh, too. I'm glad she hasn't gone off her cookies; that sounds like a good sign.
Congratulations! I can't wait to read it. I hope you aren't reading this from the hospital - I don't know any editors personally, but I've heard they can be heartless - perhaps that's why they take heart attacks so lightly :-)
Come see me!! I haven't got any colour on our (rentable) flat's walls but I have a wild and precious ocean, cliffs to walk on, a pub to cozy up in, Mark and I to play with (who are also working so we won't have time to distract you) sometimes and faeries close by to inspire you!! Someday....
I'm off to Amazon!!!!!!!
Congratulations Laini on your book. I will have to go to amazon now right away.
I hope your dog is ok.
congrats, laini! your book is already up for sale, that is so awesome...and you survived to write about it!
hope shiloh feels better.
congratulations, grrl!
i'm so excited for you that
your dreams are coming out
in the world.
ps...wood paneling makes me want to vomit.
pss...big hugs for shiloh. dogs are angels.
psss...i'm dying to see "half nelson."
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