Milestones

So I thought for awhile over what topic to blog about this week. It was torn between a story about how I got into writing and asking for opinions on how to write an acknowledgments page for a book. I have been thinking all week over this but Friday at 3:38pm CST, both of those ideas went flying from my brain as I hit yet another milestone in the book process.

Now to tell you all, no I’m not published yet, the goal is by the end of the year, Lord willing. I’ve watched with great pride as a friend of mine has already gone through this process, and the excitement he had over the whole series of epic firsts in a writer’s life meant little to me as I’d never experienced it. Now I’m starting to get the excitement behind all of his accomplishments in a way I couldn’t before. Not to say I didn’t feel excitement, or that I didn’t burst into tears with pride over the receipt of his first book, signed, in my possession. But as anyone will tell you, there is nothing like doing it yourself, and instead of being on the outside looking in, they are YOUR firsts.

I will also tell you that this last week has been plagued with a lot of personal battles that have led me to be very quiet. Fact is, I’m a very blunt person, and my mouth has been known to get me into more trouble than I can ever possibly tell you. Just about the time that I was about to curl up in the fetal position and call it a week, bury my head in a bottle of UV Blue, the highlight of my week arrived and more than made up for all the trivial battles previous encountered.

What I speak of is the first sketch of the cover art for my book. *squeal*

Yes you can say it, total dork right here. Fact is, I don’t care. I had worried for sometime about hurting someone’s feelings if I didn’t like their art but the more I think about it, this book, more than any others I may ever write, is my soul. This book is the first of many I’m sure, but it is something I have held near and dear to me for a good chunk of my adult life. The characters and everything about it are so important to me. It’s why when I decided to write the book, I made a clear decision that I don’t care who reads it, if anyone likes it, just to get it published, and it had to be the first because nothing else would be quite as fitting, for me personally.

I’ve had a couple people who have said that they would do the cover art, but no one has gotten back to me with any sketches or anything. Then Mike recommended Alissa Rindels, the artist who had done the cover for his book. I had loved Mike’s cover, but didn’t think that it was what I was looking for, but I emailed Alissa anyway. I told her a rundown of what I wanted and so on, and the waiting began. I’d looked through her gallery and yes, she is talented, but I was still hesitant.

Here’s the thing, I didn’t think anyone would ever be able to put down on paper, without physically taking a photo of the actors in my head, that would do justice to what I had in mind. This book is epic to me in so many ways, the cover would have to be just as big.

So when I opened the attachment to the email, seeing the sketch, I expected to feel disconnection from it, because I’d already made up my mind I was most likely going to be let down.

Boy was I wrong.

I promptly burst into tears and about squealed with delight. Now mind you, a rough sketch, freestyled by hand on a piece of paper with a pencil is in no way the cover, it’s a very generic form of what the actual cover will be. Something that incomplete still made my heart race, so I can only imagine what will happen when I finally get to see the finished product.

Here I am, two days later, and I’m still busting into a cheesy ass grin just thinking about it. So yes, that is my blog topic. As always, I’m curious your take on things. What are some milestones in the writing/publishing process that have been the biggest to you?



Alissa Rindels can be reached at her website...
Dire Atrium