Nothing like being sick to get you to sit down and take a look at your life. Thing is, most of the time I'm trying to avoid this by doing all the things I want to do. Then your body does something that makes you not avoid that taking stock...it gets sick. Then you're stuck on the couch with nothing but time to think about where you are in life.
Not to mention, time to watch the whole first season of Project Runway again that happens to be rerun in the afternoon of said sickness.
So, after seeing Austin and Jay pretend fight after Austin gets into Pg. 6 in the Post, I'm thinking, well later Jay wins. Austin is augh'ed at about 4th place and doesn't make it to the top 3 for fashion week. But he is on another show advertised called The Real Housewives of Orange County picking out wedding dresses. I actually LOVE Austin's fashion sense and old movies like he does. So I think he's a great pick. Which goes to show, you don't have to win to get the edge. There is no certain way.
Malan Breton, another fav. project runway designer of mine, was only on two shows, and then was augh'ed. But I think he is one of the most popular from last season, and doing fabulous with his own line of fashion. There isn't any one way to do something. Just you're own story. Just the way for you.
It's like all the people who went to the famous store in Hollywood to be discovered. That worked for one person. Then everyone else was trying it.
Then, back to getting to my perspective on things, the whole train of thought leads to what I'm doing. My book is out. I've got it out so it can be purchased, and into the hands of children. Now, it's time to really get the word out there. Print to order is the future since I think in the next 20 years books are going to go more digital or the option of hard cover or ebook.
Going around the regular way of doing things is becoming more of an option. If Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak hadn't been rejected by IBM and started Apple, would the internet be the way it is today? Personal computers are common place, in our hands, mobile. So, I self-published which got my book out there. I'm not waiting years to start getting my story to children, but it's there now. And later, I'll know numbers to show if necessary.
But it's there.
I've tried the Bookcrossing.com program which is a wonderful way to promote reading and make it fun looking for books. I used to do High Tech PR so when I feel better, or even later during the Xmas break, I'm going to try to write a press kit for my book. I'm having to do it all on my own, but it is making me realize who I am as a writer.

People were excited to sign my book this weekend. Especially when I could tell them the cross streets of where the orchard, a main setting in the book, used to be. The cross streets are Lawrence and Homestead, where the new Kaiser Hospital is now. That was the orchard I played in as a child, creek walked in the creek nearby, and had in general kid adventures. I even talked with another vendor at the Holiday Boutique about growing up in the Silicon Valley with its orchards. Most are gone. And the ones left over are being turned into park/landmarks. So, again, I'm proud that my book has captured that Kid Adventure that some of today's kids might be missing out on.
Not to mention the local history angle of my book is a good sell too. It is a start to ideas for the press pack.
I've got a writing conference in February that should help with getting ideas to sell myself and my book. Along with a review of a picture book I'm working on called "Is Santa Real?". It helps kids find the answer to the question themselves. I'll give you a clue: BELIEVE. Which is a big theme I'm finding in my Crystal Keeper series, believe.
I've been signing, "Keep believing in fairies" as my author signature. Maybe that's it. The world needs something to believe in. Santa Claus and fairies are good places to start.
Keep believing everyone, in yourself, Santa Claus, and fairies. It is what makes them real.

Soon to arrive will be my promotional copies for my book "The Lost Secret of Fairies". It is the first of a series of the Crystal Keeper Chronicles. They are due to arrive soon, and to celebrate the release of my book, I am releasing some of them into the wild.
The World's Largest Free Book Club is called Bookcrossing.com. It is an organized release of books into public places for people to enjoy different books. When found, they can be read and then a journal is kept on-line of its journey. All books will be labeled with a Bookcrossing label and number so when found and read, the reader can journal it on-line. It is sort of like a note in a bottle in the ocean.

I will keep you updated to where I leave copies. Until then, keep reading!
For more info on Bookcrossing Free Book Club, visit the website at:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/

Finally, my book is now available through Trafford Publishing. It has been a long road to get to this point. 3 years of working, revising, and proofreading have finally got my baby out there. How did I get here? I think it came down to one year of being rejected. Thinking, how does a new writer get started? The New York Ivory Tower editors just don't take chances. Heck, a lot are too scared to admit that the hardback cover book is going to be obsolete as the 21st century progresses. That people don't always go to bookstores to buy books. The new way of books is underway. Print to order and on-line ordering, and most likely, Ebooks.
I've self-published my book through a print to order book publisher called Trafford Publishing. They were writers, tired of the year-decade wait to get a book sold. They started a company to help get unpublished writers a push towards a market. I can now get books sold, do book signings, and work on promoting the book and myself, and get some numbers. This I can show to future publishers for a possible 2nd edition with a US publisher.
It is all this great experiment that I'll blog the process on. I've seen other writers to Ebooks, but I do like the idea of a hard 3-D book that can be carried around. Plus, with children, it is better for them to have a copy they can carry around.
I am noticing the distribution on my book is still at the publishing snails pace. It will be 4-6 weeks before Amazon.com will have it listed. Barnes and Nobles.com has to have its buyers pick it off the list and stock it in the warehouse before it is listed. If it is chosen at all. Not much different than normal small publishers. But at least my message is out there and children now have a new fairy novel option besides Disney. Options for readers is always good. New worlds for children to explore their imagination, even better.
For those thinking of self-publishing, be warned that you are the EDITOR. All choices for getting the artwork, proofreading the manuscript, etc. are all yours. For someone who likes that control, this might be your option. I have retained all copyrights, and the book is under Canadian copyright law. If an American company wanted to publish it, I can now show them sales numbers, etc. on a quarterly basis.
For more info on how I did it, visit Trafford Publishing's website at:
http://www.trafford.com .
For my book, here is the link to it's website listing for purchases and info:
http://www.trafford.com/07-2000 .
Good luck and I'll update on how the self-publishing experiment is going. I've learned that writers have to support and share their experiences. We're all in this together, right?

Well, after almost 3 weeks of preparing and working with an artist friend, the manuscript is off finally to Trafford Publishing. I've signed with a self-publishing company in Canada called Trafford Publishing. I signed up for the Full Monty package, deluxe plus, where I get a webpage on the main site, listing in on-line book sellers like Amazon.com and Barnes and Nobles, and posters, bookmarks, and postcards to promote the book. Down side, those big bookstores won't stock it on the shelves since they can't send back returns/no sale books for refunds. It's print to order. So, I'm going to have to sell myself and my book, esp. to the local bookstores here. Since the main subject is about fairies and pollution, internet searches should bring it up. And of course, promotion at Writing Conferences will help.
One of my fellow guild members did a fabulous job drawing the cover art and an illustration for the title page. And I put this all in a package, and shipped it off to Canada. My baby is away.
So, how do I feel? When I see the proof, it might feel real. I hope everything is in the proper order, and can be made easily into a book. Hoping now there are no probs so it can be available for print to order in 4-6 weeks. This should make it ready in time for the Holiday Season sales that start on-line in November.
Why didn't I ebook? Well, children really don't seem to be into ebooks. Maybe future generations, but paperback books seem to be popular for the 9-12 year old still, especially for birthday and holiday presents. So since my market is more for children and those who buy for children, I went for a print to order paperback. There is an ebook option add-on I can do later, but I'll see how sales go.
I'll be relating full reports of how this venture goes, to help let all those other writers out there what it's like to self-publish. Heah, if it sells some, and I break even, I'll be happy. After two years of work, I just want my work/message to get out to the masses of children that need a good read. Especially since fairies are still popular.
**Long Sigh**
It's good to have it off finally. Now to face the rest of the school year.

I've settled down into a routine of hanging out in Dublin, sightseeing, eating out and blog/writing. Been working on doing some research for the second book. Found legends and myth books originally from the mid-1800s and seems to be sources for a lot of other fairy legend books; esp. on the internet. Also have been exploring the outregions of Dublin by DART-commuter train. Been to two seaside towns and splashed about in the Irish Sea. Then walked around Howth, a fishing town up at the end of Howth. Last night was an amazing Celtic Night-in Dublin. Basically, went to a pub in the Temple Bar District and hung out while a quartet jammed and did some Celtic Music songs. It's what happens in my area on Thursday at a local pub in California. In fact, it's tonight, Thurs. back home. So I had Celtic Night in Dublin a night early.

Excited because today is my 4th year Wedding Anniversary. Going off to meet my husband and in-laws for a nice Google office lunch. He can have visitors since he has to work all this week in the Dublin Google office. Then later, it's shopping at the city market for a hunt of antiques.
Dublin is an amazing place. Filled with local culture, history, and oh yeah, Guinness. Which I found after tasting, is very good, but I still like cider. Not really a beer person. And the Bulmer's Cider is quite nice here.

Looking forward to next week and traveling around by caravan/motorhome in the countryside. Hope we can make it on some of the small Irish roads, but then, I guess I'll find out. Signing off from Dublin.

I've been trying to make the most of my time in Dublin. I'm trying to get things done on my must see list, while planning around the HUGE amount of rain. It is the most rainiest summer in 150 years. So, I'm living a bit of history. The one sunny day so far in Dublin, my husband Keith and I managed to run all over and see and photograph as many sites as possible in Dublin. I have posted the highlights in a slideshow on myspace. So far this week I have seen the Book of Kells, the Gaelic Harp, the Trinity College Library, Newgrange and Knowth, the outside of Christ's Church Cathedral, Knowth, and Newgrange. It was interesting at Christ's Church Cathedral since the church was closed for the filming of the tv show "The Tudors". So I couldn't go in, so I've put it on my list for next week.

Today, finished up with a tour of the Jameson Whiskey Distillery. It is more of a shrine and museum since the real distillery is in Cork. But it is where it all started. And those that have requested whiskey, be assured, I have stocked up.
So, what does the next week await for me? Well, hopefully more sunshine, as pretty much most of Ireland is wishing for. Unfortunately, the prediction is for rain all next week. There has not really been any summer weather the whole month of July. Like I said, living history.
I want to see if I can get in to the Dublin Library and look up a few ancestors. And how the process is for that. Plus, work a little more on my next book. Which, the current publisher I sent my first book in the series to still needs 2-3 more weeks to go through and look at their pile. This is the second notice like this. Not sure what to think except one thing, keep writing.
So, from Dublin, to friends and all...Slain Ahhail!

Ok, most who know me, know I don't usually cook. But today is Summer Solstice, the celebration of being the closest point Earth is to the sun. It is also known as Litha. Now, with all the fairy work I've been doing, and knowing there are several camped out on my porch in the garden most of the time, I awoke with an urge to cook little cakes to celebrate Midsummer Solstice. So, I go on-line searching and looking for what I was picturing in my mind. I found something similar but made substitutions for what I wanted to make. Here is the recipe that came out of the morning inspiration. I've just had a go and cooking, and they turned out to make the whole condo smell of honey and cinnamin.
If you need a pick me up or want to make a little celebration of your own, here's the recipe.

Midsummer Honey Mini-Cakes

1 Whole Egg or just whites
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cherry extract
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cup of corn meal flour
1/2 cup of buttermilk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Ready muffin pan. I used a mini-muffin pan of 14 cups.
In a bowl, mix honey and egg. Beat until a bit frothy. Beat in oil, salt, vanilla and cherry extract.
Combine corn meal, baking powder and soda. Add flour mixture into honey mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Mix until all buttermilk and flour is used.
Pour batter into muffin pan cups. Cook for 6 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle cinnamin while cooling.

Enjoy!
Sniff, sniff! Condo smells like Midsummer now.

Well, I am shocked that Melinda is not in the finals of American Idol. But maybe she doesn't have the popstar look or something. She's a better performer than Blake and Jordan combined. But heah, the winner of American Idol doesn't necessarily do better. Lots of 2nd and 3rd place winners put out albums and go on tour. Now I'm waiting for Melinda to put out her album and of anyone who's been on the show, I'd see her and Nikki McKibbin live.
Here's to Melinda! Rock on! Now your career REALLY begins!

So, now after another several weeks...I decided to do the follow-up letter to the editor. It's been about 3 months since I sent my manuscript to this publisher, and I'm still hoping for a match. But the hardest part is this long, endless wait. Keeping to the positive side, I figure, I have plan B...the self-publish option. Except on further research, I have found that the big bookstores don't like to order with self-pubs that only print to order. They can't return unsold books.
With all this playing around in my mind, I got an answer to the follow-up letter. It basically says they are reviewing it and it will be another 6-8 WEEKS.
This is worst than waiting to see what part I was assigned when I was doing shows as a kid. Like waiting to see if you made the football team, cheerleader squad, whatever is your thing, etc.
I've talked to a friend of mind about may be doing the cover if I self-publish, keeping in mind a publisher could pick it up in the States. The self-pub is in Canada. But then, if this US publisher is interested? Goal achieved. Any authors out there with published work, either self-published or not, any feedback I'd be happy to listen to.
But of course, I'm still writing. Started the second book in the series, and I'm on Chapter 2. Off and running. Just have to get through this hard part, the big wait. That's what it feels like. Will publishing ever move faster? Seems a lot like the education world, and that never moves fast.
*Feeling hand under chin as I balance on knee*
Could be that I'm bumbed that Spring Break is ending and I have to go back to work.
Ahhh...but I heard the SNL call. Something about Sat. Night Live that makes me feel it's Sat. Will deposit butt on couch with husband and partake in the humor.

So, over two years ago, I joined a Renaissance Guild that acted at Celtic Faires. Great, I thought, I have a wee bit of Irish. What I didn't know was how much else I'd find out. Doing faire after faire I wondered like if I was in a Tolkien Novel, is there a little bit of Scottish in me?
When I was researching the Irish side, I just researched all the family names in my family's history. A lot of my relatives had woman that carried on the line. So, there are a lot of maiden names to trace. The funny thing is that the Scot side was staring me in the face. My Great Grandma and Grandpa Hall were from Texas. And Hall is a Scottish/Irish/and or English. And there is a Hall Tartan.
After signing up for Ancestry.com, I'm trying to research which child of Daniel Boone I'm related too. Let alone, try to find the place of Ireland my Grandpa Hankins comes from. Some info I may never find, but it's fun looking. Happy Tartan Day to all! Hope you find your roots!