I’ve been broadening my supporting cast of author services recently, deepening my relationship with my latest editor (the fabulous Liana Brooks, if anyone is considering a content editor), adding marketing support (via Chelsea Author Promotions), and a new cover artist (Kelley York with X-Potion Designs). This weekend I saw the first results for Dust to Blood and was all of a sudden excited to broach the book 1 edits I’ve been sitting on since Liana sent them to me a couple weeks back. Especially since she sent me book 2 edits this weekend too. I’m going to have to do a cover … re-reveal soon enough, because Kelley’s work so captures the intersection of intrigue and paranormal that reflects the story I tried to write. And it’s beautiful.
As for the story, apparently I needed more experience as an author to understand the ways my conflict aversion IRL make for a deadly author trap. Sorry-not-sorry to all my future characters who will have to wade through the issues I was likely to have glossed over previously.
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Along those lines, hubs forwarded an interesting article about things people with anxiety experience but have difficulty talking about. Then I found an article that talks about neuroplasticity in relation to Buddhism, and puts a more universal spin on what scientists are learning about the impermanence of self. These put a new twist on a potential sequel to The Builders, and give me a certain kind of support for optimism about humanity.
Of course, this week we also watched Wonder Woman. It was excellent. It was so refreshing to see a woman’s perspective front and center, and the scenes with the rest of the Amazons… the director aimed for a female version of the 300, and blew me away with grace and strength and dexterity and power. It’s sad that cadre of performers haven’t been featured in the marketing for the film. It was a vision of female centricity I don’t think I’ve ever seen before in that kind of film. The subtlety of the transformation of all the main characters, who mature from the callow every-youth who’s sure she knows enough to face the realities of the world, to adults who make hard choices that validate their original sense of purpose. It was moving on so many levels, and we will be buying the Blu-ray to watch it over and over again. I’m glad that despite choosing a different marketing path than what fans had hoped for, the movie is proving to be a box office winner.
Contrasting that is Paulina Porizkova’s recent op-ed about feminism. Women still have a long way to go in America.
As for other goals, summer heat struck this week, so we didn’t spend as much time walking as we had last week. Still, my phone says I averaged 4,304 steps a day. Tashie had her final underwater treadmill session yesterday, and we took the other two along for a fun swim. Except that they experienced the pool as a terror trying to kill them, and I have the nail scratches and bruises to prove it. Santino started us off with a major laugh with his slow-motion pratfall into the pool, but once he was secure in my arms, he was content to float. KouKi, on the other hand… she was certain she was going to drown even with her flotation jacket. There was much hilarity and cursing. And they slept all day yesterday after their swim, as well as all day today, so whatever else they got out of it, they got enough exercise despite the heat.
This week will be full of long days at the office, but I plan on really diving into edits. If I’m lucky, I’ll find a fast pace to do so that lets me re-release book 1 and release book 3 both in July. We’ll see. We still have a week and a half in this round, so we’ll see how far I get. In the meantime, check out how my buddies are doing, and I’ll report back next week.