Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Gorgeous Novel Cover Helps Ring in 2012!

Happy New Year!

This year started off GREAT, even before it began. Saturday afternoon, New Year's Eve, I finally got around to checking email and there in my inbox was a message I had been eagerly anticipating. My novel cover for Castaway Hearts from my publisher.

Excitement and giggles bubbled to the surface as I opened the email, my husband and daughter eager to see as well. And there it was- BAM!

Beauty in blue that brought tears to my eyes.

My publisher designed the cover and I probably haven't, and can't, possibly express to her just how much I love it and what a wonderful job I think she did on it. Even now, I'm tearing up again- it comes in waves, laughter and tears of joy at just what a beautiful 1st cover I have and how much more REAL this is all getting for me. I dreamed and hoped and imagined this moment for more than 1/2 my life, and to see it and feel it coming to life before my eyes fills me with so many emotions I have a hard time expressing the joy without blathering on and on, gushing over the cover, squeeing with giddiness and tearing up when the dream crashes into reality all over again, the momentum of happiness swelling in my heart until it overflows.

I've been this wishy-washy mess since Saturday, but it's all good. Monday I took the image file to Wal-Mart and printed an 8X10 and bought a pretty frame, so I can have it where I can see it all the time. It's just SO purty!

Now, I have shared the cover on Facebook and Twitter already on Saturday, and it is on my website, along with the book blurb, if you'd like to check it out. I can also proudly say that I have Jimmy Thomas and Teresa Noreen on my cover. Absolutely LOVE it and I'm so proud!

As to this new year- I gave up "resolutions" a long time ago because much as I like to have goals, resolutions feel like goals with little to no wiggle room for Life's ever changing journey and my path might veer off the beaten from time to time and away from the original goal, but I believe that's Life's way anyhow. I do plan to strive toward getting more writing done this year, more editing and hopefully have news on that front more often as Castaway Hearts' release gets closer. I plan to be BLOGGING more, too.

I think one of the reasons I don't blog as much as I used to is because I got it in my head that I can only write about writing on here and I do tend to keep a lot of what's going on in my life more private than I used to, but I think I'm going to change that pattern and try to get back to posting a few times a week. My biggest following and my most active blogging was back when I just wrote to be writing about what was going on in my life, with my writing, and whatever was on my mind.

Being I'm part of the Fiction Witches I will still continue to post my Fun Friday Feature books each week, but I'm hoping to think of other things to write about a few other times a week and I'd be thrilled to have visitors to chat with, etc. It's always wonderful to know I'm talking to real people and not just myself. LOL I also need to figure out how to go about doing blog hops, interviews and guest blogging too, for promo. All in due time.

I do need to find some organization for my writing time versus daily life, as things have been skewed for weeks now since the holidays and I'm eager to find my way back to some sense of normalcy, though I've been doing a lot of thinking about what is "normal" after seeing a fellow author post this little piece of food for thought~

Why do we strive to be normal? Isn't that setting our standards a bit low?

(thank you Shanon Grey)

I think this year, I'm going to strive for EXtra- I'm going to expect excellence from myself. I'm going to make it extraordinary and shoot for being exceptional! In all the things I do, I want to go that extra mile, give that extra push and know I gave it beyond my all.

How can I fail if I expect more from myself?
If I keep a positive attitude and most of all, stop being the roadblock in my own life, what CAN'T I do?

1 comment:

Jennifer Johnson said...

What an inspiring post. You brought tears to my eyes, my dear. And I am crazy about that cover. You should get a poster of it and frame that.