The Numbers Game

When he was a wee little lad, my son loved to watch Sesame Street. I remember at the end of every episode they would say, "This show was brought to you by the letters ___ and ___ and by the number ___."

So in the tradition of Sesame Street, this blog post is brought to you by the number 24. There are still 24 hours in every day, aren't there? The reason I'm asking is because lately it hasn't felt like that to me.

I'm writing a book with a contracted deadline for the first time ever! And while the deadline is currently months away, I know that the time will fly by. I also know that I'm not one of those writers who can spill out a bunch of words in a crunch. My way is slow and steady, which means I need to steadily turn out words. I've been working hard on that for the past few weeks, along with trying to get ready for this two week jaunt to Turkey.

ACK!

By this time next week, I'll be gazing at the ruins of Troy. Now if I could just run into a guy who looked like Eric Bana's version of Hector... You might never see Yer Olde Aunty again! HA!

Meanwhile, the number 24 is taunting me. "That's all you get every day between now and the time you leave!"

"NO FAIR!" I say. I need more hours! I'm not ready! And please DO NOT mention the up-coming holidays!

Fan Mail!

LONG LONG AGO, but in this very galaxy...
Aunty used to watch "Rocky and Bullwinkle" cartoons. There was one sequence where Rocky would say, "Look Bullwinkle! A message in a bottle." To which Bullwinkle replied, "Fan mail from some flounder?"

This always made me laugh.

Yes, I was a strange child.

Yesterday, fan mail made me laugh again. No, it wasn't from some flounder. It was honest-to-goodness FAN MAIL... to ME!

Last year not long after I received "The Call" and became a "SOLD" writer, I rented myself a post office box. Having a separate place for mail under my pseudonym made me feel more "professional." Plus, it's a deductible business expense.

Unfortunately, I haven't received much of anything but junk mail until... Yesterday I stopped by to check my PO Box and I had not one, NOT TWO, but THREE pieces of fan mail! This is another small step in my journey, but one I've dreamed of happening.

I had to run out of the post office and hop in my car so I could SQUEE and laugh with joy in relative privacy.

Gimme 5... Things About Being a Published Author

WOW! The Wild Sight has now been "officially released" for a month! So here are five random things that just crossed my mind about being a PUBLISHED AUTHOR:

1. Getting my first "fan email!" Thank you, Helen! And knowing that people thousands of miles away, who have never met me (or maybe never even heard of me!) are reading the words I wrote and ENJOYING THEM!
2. Going into a big chain bookstore and seeing copies of The Wild Sight sitting on the shelf under "New Romances."
3. Realizing how much more there is to being a "published author" than just writing a good book. Oh, like promotion... My wild and crazy blog tour had me all over cyber-space! I did 15 guest blogs in 30 days. WHEW! (Aunty wipes sweat from her brow.)
   
4. Figuring out that the really good reviews and the not-so-good ones are only as significant as I choose to make them. They are all only one person's subjective opinion.
   
5. Knowing that this time next year, I get to do it again!

One Hit Wonders

For several months now, I've been living in fear that I might be a dreaded "One Hit Wonder."

Here's the definition of One Hit Wonder from Wikipedia: "Most American music industry insiders consider a song in the top forty positions of the Billboard Hot 100 to be a hit. Thus, any performer who recorded only one song that reached the Top 40 is, technically, a one-hit wonder. However, the term is more generally applied to musicians best known for only one song..."

And when it comes to books, Wikipedia said this: "The term "one-hit wonder" is occasionally used to refer to an artist, other than a musical performer, who is best known for a single work. Examples in literature include Harper Lee's only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, which sold 30 million copies; and author Joseph Heller, who wrote several novels, but is still best known for Catch-22. Margaret Mitchell never wrote another book after her first novel, Gone With the Wind, was a smash best-seller."

Even with such esteemed company as Joseph Heller, Harper Lee, and Margaret Mitchell, I did not want to occupy this category. Happily, it appears I will not! My editor wants to publish two more books from me! I am so thrilled and happy. This is ALMOST as good as my first sale.

ALMOST.

The deal is not yet finalized but I couldn't wait any longer to share my excitement. My next book on the shelves will be my 2006 Golden Heart finalist, Jewels of the Madonna. No firm publication date yet, but most likely in the Fall 2009.

I will give more details as soon as I have them!

Until then, I'll be humming that catchy little ditty of a One Hit Wonder, My Sharona by The Knack.