HOUSE OF TRANSFORMATION

Seeing a hard copy of my book is magical. I almost feel as if the book itself will take off in flight. It's very dream-like to see my name in print and hold it in my hands. The weight of it is so heavy and so light, like the book is made of feathers.

Publishing a novel is an exhilarating, confusing, daunting process. One one hand, it's everything I ever dreamed, everything the stories in my mind always wanted. I'm over the moon! On the other hand, checking skewed proofs and formatting margins makes my eyes cross. But at last I have a published e-book, and the paperback versions are chugging along the process.

Here's the first proof, with a fantastic cover design, but with incorrect margins. It'd be great to pull this design off, but in the end, my cover designer, Tim Krug (who also happens to be my husband) decided to make the colors wrap around the spine so the printers can't mess it up. I had to edit the interior to make it more readable. I'm surprised at how varied the advice is about important things such as the margins, font size, and creating a cover.

I'll receive my second 'proof' in the mail next week, and will be able to release the book right in time for all the tip-top January sales! I kid, but perhaps this is best for a burgeoning author.  I'm anticipating a sprinkling of book signings at boutiques, and the big stores after I have some reviews.

I just enrolled on the website Goodreads -- how did I not know about this forum for friends who read and recommend books? Reading is an important factor in determining friends, and now I can see how much all my friends read. My faith in humanity is somewhat restored, but my booklist has grown immensely.

Currently, my book is available for e-sale at Amazon. I hope to have a brilliant hard copy soon.