Tag: Joy To My Life
Paperback now available
The proof copies came a lot sooner than I expected (that is, than Amazon originally said they would), and I love they way they look. I think for a future edition I will make the gutter margins a little wider, and there is at least one spot where the word processor did that thing it sometimes does with the text justification where it separates the words out all widely. These are minor concerns, though, so I went ahead and made the print edition available.
I dreamed that the binding was so poor that half the pages were coming detached at the first readthrough XD But in reality I have read quite a bit of it (random segments) in the proof copy I’ve been carrying around with me like a security blanket, and it feels sturdy enough. The matte cover is gorgeous.
I asked my parents (literally the only persons that have read this book all the way through as yet) to seed the official website with questions/comments I would want to answer publicly so as to show future visitors how that works, but so far only one question has been forthcoming, and it happens to need the same post image as the very previous post -__- But the kids don’t have their copy yet, so there’s still some time.
I ordered 10 copies at cost. I’ll sign one for the two distant families (and see if brother wants a signed official copy, since I gave him one of the proofs already), and send those off, and then keep the rest around for anyone that wants to buy one directly from me instead of ordering online. Oh, I suppose I’d better sign one for grandma too.
Anyway, this is all still extremely exciting and delightful for me. Here are the informative images again, if anyone around here is interested:
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IT’S TIME YOU GUYS YOU GUYS
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Yes, that’s right: my darling sister finished drawing the cover illustration for this novel, which is now in the process of publication. The link above leads to the official site, where there are purchase links to Amazon and Barnes & Noble. At the moment only the ebook versions are available; paperbacks will be out in the next couple of weeks.
The reason I’m using images rather than text here is that the book (and its series and its website) are PG-rated and dedicated to my young nephews and niece. Not like it’s a big huge secret that I’ve also written less family-safe stuff over here; I just don’t want some kid to go searching for the series or book title and turn up this archive. There’ll be plenty of opportunity for that when they’re older XD
So this book is YA portal fantasy. Yeah, it’s pretty much what I always write: a focus on character interaction and introspection against a backdrop of fantasy adventure. Fans of swashbuckling action may be disappointed, and the very nephews and niece to whom it’s dedicated may not like it, but I love it to pieces. And obviously I’ll be happy if anyone else reads and enjoys it!
Though I’m extremely happy as it is. The cover art is freaking gorgeous, and at the very least the Kindle ebook looks fantastic. Also? I’ve mentioned Alexa reads Kindle books aloud, right? I’ve been having her read mah very own novel to me from my Echo Dot lately, and it’s so much fun.
I’m still working on filling the official website with commissioned art; it’s been somewhat difficult, since the majority of the characters are non-human (and of those only a few of them even qualify as “anthro”), so a lot of artists aren’t up to drawing them. But it’s working out, and that’s exciting. I’ll draw some more art of my own for it eventually, too.
Anyway, I’m working on the second book, and eagerly awaiting the proof copies for the paperback editions. I’m ecstatic about this; it’s a project that’s been extremely long in the making, and now it’s finally in its final stage!
TWIP: Waybee and Echo Dot and that’s mostly it
36 days until I turn 38! Now for some photos
This is not fanart.
A moment of breathless delight
I haven’t LODITEE’d in quite a while, because I’ve been fortunate not to have a lot of deep-touching life events occur in recent years. And in considering this one, and how I should write it up in my journal, I’ve managed at last to put my finger on why it is that LODITEE exists in the first place.
The reason is extremely simple: I don’t like to make journal entries about my thoughts and emotions relating to major life events because I’m saving those thoughts and emotions to use later in stories. And once you’ve taken away that aspect of the experience, what else is there to say? Might as well not make a post about it at all, right? Apparently this is how I think XD
But some things do need to be documented, and I suppose there’s even a chance someone following this archive might be interested in knowing. So my announcement is as follows: as of June 6, I am long-distance dating a wonderfully adorable and fascinating woman named Lee whom I met online.
If this doesn’t seem like the most earth-shattering announcement anyone’s ever made, just consider that I am somewhat asexual, picky as shit, and that I haven’t dated anyone in about eight years. In any case, I am very happy about it. And now it is documented.
A favorable sign in pink heels
I was leaving Wal-Mart yesterday, and there on the ground, unattended and apparently unnoticed by anyone else walking by, was Draculaura! Of course I picked her up immediately, and took her to my car, and brushed her hair. Then I brought her home to be a mascot beside my computer.
Now, this is a Monster High ghoul, but there’s an undeniable, intense significance to my finding a plastic doll on the ground and bringing it home. Additionally, as soon as I set her down inside the house and went to put groceries away, Little Cat started dragging her around by the hair. It doesn’t get much more appropriate than that, eh?
I consider this an auspice. This past Monday, just at the end of the day (in other words, just at the end of the weekend), I thought of a HoH idea (the 60’s story in Nine Decades, in case anyone’s curious) that had me so excited I was doing a sort of pee-dance all week in anticipation of working on it this weekend. And what kicks off that very weekend? A clear HoH symbol, as if specifically to bless my endeavor.
This is just ridiculously awesome.
Remember you’re golden, so find some sugar cane
Every once in a while it really does seem like a good idea to make a personal entry around here that isn’t all, “I worked on this and this,” or, “I read such-and-such a book,” or, “Look, I went to Disneyland.” And if I make this as comprehensive as possible, I won’t have to write another one for a while XD So here we go.
Awesome new phone wot
18 days until I turn 36!
I loved my Galaxy S4 with a glorious passion, and will always fondly remember purchasing plane tickets to England on it at work. When it started to act a little weird and slow down a bit because it was getting older, I figured I’d get a later entry in that series and love it similarly. I was going to buy the S7 from my provider, Cricket, with whom I’d always been quite satisfied, but just then by coincidence my mom’s provider, Republic Wireless, announced they would be getting several new phones — including the S7 — on the very day I would be able to afford what I wanted to buy.
Republic Wireless is cool. You do all everything (including calling) over Wi-Fi whenever Wi-Fi is available, and, though you pay for a plan as usual, they refund you anything you haven’t used (because you’ve been mostly on Wi-Fi) once the month is up. I didn’t mind what I was paying with Cricket, but the prospect of paying less for being able to do all the same shit? Yes, please!
I’m only a couple of weeks through my first month with Republic, so I can’t actually report yet on how successful this system is likely to be for me. It’s looking extremely promising, though.
And the phone? ZOMFG I love it so much. I love everything about it so much that it’s easier to list what I dislike than go on and on about everything I adore. First of all, the speaker placement is odd; it’s right in a spot where your fingers tend to sit when you hold the phone sideways. Secondly, on the home screen, the information bar across the top is always white text with no background — meaning that if you have a wallpaper whose background is white, the information across the top disappears.
Another complaint I have isn’t about the phone itself, but, rather, a combination of circumstances. The only texting app compatible with both my phone and Republic Wireless’s transitioning-between-Wi-Fi-and-cell-service system is Google’s Messenger. It’s a bare-bones app that’s not necessarily bad, but doesn’t recognize the individual notifications set up for your contacts, and doesn’t have an in-app setting for individual notifications. Which means my phone makes the same sound no matter who’s texting me. However, I don’t really receive all that many text messages, so this is a minor annoyance.
Aaaanyway, this phone is gorgeous and takes gorgeous pictures, and has all sorts of little options that I love. I’m very happy with it. Of course, it’s shaped slightly differently than the S4, so all my darling custom cases are now obsolete. I’ma hang them up on the wall as decorations now. Dunno how many cases I’ll end up with for my S7; I guess we’ll see. I designed one to start out with, thinking it would be really cool to have a phone case entirely in manga black and white. See here:
I was going to post the original image as well, but I accidentally deleted it. Too bad. I’m super happy with this case; don’t forget that My Custom Case is freaking awesome.
So that’s about it for now! New phone yay!!
Disneyland report
I love Disneyland!! It is one of my favorite places to be! Now I will talk about it. Yay!