It's Official

The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs. ~Vance Havner

I've been sitting on my hands for over a week with news that I've wanted to share -- but needed to wait until I actually had the contract in hand.

My novel has been accepted for publication with Samhain Publishing!

I'm so excited about it, I can't stand it. I emailed a few online friends with the news when I first got the offer just over a week ago, and they've asked me why I haven't hollered it from the rooftops. Well... the person who issues the contracts at Samhain was on vacation, and I really just wanted to wait until all the t's were crossed, and i's dotted.

They are, so I am (shouting... from the rooftops...)

My novel is (tentatively) called "Isn't She Liv Leigh" and it's a lighthearted romance I wrote for NaNoWriMo in 2005.

Here's a short blurb from my query letter:

Olivia "Liv" Leigh, wealthy socialite and spa owner, believes her fiancé is cheating on her, so she takes drastic steps to discover whether appearances are deceiving. And if those steps require a bit of stalking, a change of appearance, dealing with a sneaky ferret, a hippo-sized dog named Spike and a man determined to break several of the strangest Guinness Book of World Records, why should that be a problem?

So that makes THREE shortish stories with TWRP and this novel all recently contracted. Huh... guess I need to get busy on some new stuff!

Actually, Judy and I challenged each other to submit something somewhere twice a month. We both managed last month, but I'm a little concerned about this on my end for September. Judy? You have two somethings you're sending out this month?

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Pillar Place: Monarch P2 has suffered a population explosion. DD went out to gather leaves for the two we have and discovered a whole colony. We now have, SEVEN monarch babies scattered throughout the house. I can't keep them in the spare bedroom like I did all summer, because my uncle arrives here from California today (to drive my mom and all her stuff back out there...mean old Uncle. Just kidding, he's actually about the kindest, most generous person you'd ever meet... but... still... he is taking my mom away. So... yeah... mean)

My DD has two in her room and I have FIVE piled in the windowsill of my bathroom. One is a little bigger than I would have liked to bring inside -- I worry about parasitoids -- they're really yucky, live inside the butterbaby and don't hatch until the pillar makes his pupa (thereby killing it).

Ewww....

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Ha! This cracked me up:

You Are Curling

What you lack in athleticism, you make up for in concentration. And while curling isn't much more of a sport than bowling, you *can* win a gold medal for it!

What Winter Sport Are You?