SHE'S HERE! Dusty Waters has a "sister"...

They are two peas from a pod, but as different as night and day...

I'm absolutely thrilled to have her at last! She arrived yesterday morning, and I've been spending some quiet time looking her over (in a sense counting all her fingers and toes.) It's just amazing holding this book in my hands, it's magical...yet oddly enough, I felt sad. Weird, but true. When I think about it a significant chunk of my life happened during the writing of this one book, paging through it and reading the story there's the baggage of the years, the joy, the frustrations, the agonizing, the relief. She might not be perfect...but she's here at last, and I'm pleased to share The Fractured Hues of White Light with you.

In a few days time, she'll be for sale through Amazon.com, but for now, my e-store at Createspace is up and running for sales...I currently have none in hand (just my precious little proof)...so I'll be stocking up a few copies for future giveaways... Oy vey, I'll have my little hands full getting the word out and getting her placed in various online venues during the next few days...

It's a beautiful thing.

Better late than never... the book cover is done!

And so here she is...the bright yellow cover that I've wanted...

The painting is mine, an acrylic wash on paper entitled "Walking on the Sun"... and once again, my Fred worked his magic and made it happen. I love it...

Within a week I'll should have the first paperback proof in hand...before the month of May is over, there will be a new book for sale!

It's rainbow season...

On the evening of May 5th the conditions were just right, rain in the east, the sun setting in the west and a big rainbow shimmered above our old barn...

...and the maple tree to the north (it was a double for a bit)...

...and the other end to the south... it's a magical time of year on the hilltop...I love running out into the rain to catch these fleeting moments in the sky...

Pretty stuff from my digital sketchbook...the new leaves are lovely...

The red maple...

My old friend in a different season...

There's this old honey suckle bush that must be as old as our farmhouse with a gnarly trunk... I've been photographing it this week, lots of the photos look like my pencil drawings...


Like this one from my sketchbook, "May"...

No book cover yet for White Light, I've been under the weather for several days now, Fibromyalgia has been kicking my butt in a bad way... I can only describe it as feeling like I've been shoved into a trash compactor and there's someone who keeps turning it on and turning it off all day... it's better today, but still there in a hum set on low... I push through it and often accomplish more than I think I can... it's better than rolling up in a ball in bed (tho' sometimes that is necessary.) Maybe tonight we'll work on it, all the elements are there, it's just piecing things together so it becomes the recognizable image of the book, I'd like to get it done this weekend, get it off my plate and move on to the next project...

Dusty Waters received another positive review from a reader (to read it go to: http://thecajunbooklady.blogspot.com/) she won the book in the Library Thing Giveaway... I am always so grateful when a reader takes the time to write a review and posts it on Goodreads, Amazon, Library Thing, and their blog (if they have one)... I'm working with a shoestring budget and word of mouth is priceless!

May...

This pert little face looked up at me from the rock wall with it's "Who do you think you are?" greeting...I love the wee viola's known as Johnny Jump-ups... who do I think I am indeed... some days I wonder...

The book signing went well yesterday, I sold and signed a few copies... met with a young lady who is in the process of becoming a writer, and while her mom was in line paying for a signed copy of Dusty Waters, she meekly came back and said "Can I talk to you?" She pulled up a chair and asked "How...?" And so I told her... finish this book, but most of all practice, patience... and don't forget to have fun...

Although we had a lovely chat there's this part of me worrying... Wait, who do I think I am? I'm still muddling along, sure I have a book published, and altho' I'm doing better than I ever imagined a year ago at this time... my sales report wasn't "zero" for the month of April, I have a new 5 star review on Amazon, so I'm doing something right... I have an author chat coming up at Library Thing starting May 10th (about Dusty Waters of course)... my second novel is on the cusp of being published... I just need to get a cover ready... but is it enough? What did I forget to tell her?

What I forgot to tell this young lady is this, sometimes there's more uncertainty than certainty on a good day... don't lose heart. It won't be your first book that will get published, it might be the fourth one you write, or the tenth one... no matter what, set your goal to keep going forward. Soak up experience, write, keep your mind open to new stories, write, listen to that special voice that's whispering to you, write. You want to be a writer... be a writer... write every day because you love it. Don't write for the money. Look at it as an investment... invest in time, invest in the tools you need, invest in your words, make them right, make them tell the story the way you want it... it's a labor of love.

It was a hot weekend, the lilacs are blooming... coming around the back corner of the house this morning, the smell of lilac beauty hit me... here they waver on the afternoon breeze...