Thursday Thirteen 30th Edition
Mar. 13th, 2008 10:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xakaraGreetings Kittens,
Despite a rough start to the week and some drastic energy dips to overcome I am feeling fantabulous this come-too-early morning. Why did it come to early? Well let's just say a small drip became a big drip and suddenly having to dump out an unexpectedly overflowing bucket before water soaks through the floor and begins dripping on one's neighbors is enough to wake you right up no matter how little sleep you've gotten. Heretofor known as the infamous bucket incident that will likely be referred to in the context of a sudden move in the next six weeks. For now lets move along.
Since I'm feeling so fantabulous and refusing to let grey skies or plumbing issues to get me down, I'm bringing you the 13 Most Awesomest Moments of the Last Month. Yes, "Most Awesomest" was necessary to best convey my current mood. Proper adherence to grammar would have stolen something and I couldn't deny you all the rich experience of me on no sleep and feeling a little perky. So onto the 13 Most Awesomest Moments!
Enjoy.
13 Most Awesomest Moments
1. I got my first royalty statement ~ This is awesome for so many reasons, I'll just touch on the most awesomest. It was for February! Yes, I did debut in February but not until February 26th and statements close on the 30th (in this case 29th) of the month. That means I earned out my advance and made profit all in four days!
2. I got my first fan emails ~ Any attempt to explain how it felt would diminish, enough to say that I was moved beyond words. I pray that I'm blessed to feel that way about everyone who is excited enough about sharing my world to send their thoughts to me.
3. I was guaranteed a home for BLOOD SPRITE ~ I have to be all cryptic and vague about this until the ink is dry somewhere. What I can say is that I was guaranted by more than one source within the handful that have it (and it was hinted at by another source), that if we can nail down the details BLOOD SPRITE (the novel you read excerpts of last week) will have a home.
I've kept my options opened until those details are nailed down because until the moment it's on a shelf things can change quickly. But at least now I know that one way or another BLOOD SPRITE and the greater details of my Therian World will be brought to you in '09 (if not before). Wish me luck that the final decision is the best one for the book and the series as a whole.
4. SHIFTING PASSIONS is #6 at MBaM going into it's 3rd week ~ You folks are so awesome! I cannot thank you enough for the great response and what it felt like to have such a positive reception with my first work. The renewed energy from it allowed for numbers 5 and 6.
5. I finalized my revision choices for a novella I'm 97.64% sure is going to be contracted ~ My editor was excited about this project but wanted to hold off until we edited SHIFTING PASSIONS and some of my personal writing quirks were addressed. In the meantime I came up with several revision ideas but couldn't settle on just one. I finally have and will be sending it off next week. Why am I only 97.64% sure if the editor was excited and PASSIONS is doing so well? Because only insane people are ever 100% about things that involve other people, and where I may be crazy, I am by no means insane.
6. I finalized the next four major projects I'm working on ~ After NaNo and realizing I had gone in too many directions at once for one work, things rather stalled with The Forgiven. After a bit of a break to do research I then got caught up in edits and revisions and was getting a little depressed that I didn't know which new things I'd be working on next. That all got settled and things are now arrayed in colorful post-its on my Taskmaster Calendar of Doom. I feel all organized and on track now. :)
7. I'm in a smaller clothing size and I hit a significant weight marker in my health journey ~ I don't talk about health and fitness here too often because it's a topic I could go on about for pages at a time. I have two forums I use for that (which I need to get back to after a bit of exile from the computer the last few weeks) and have kept LJ primarily "weight free". But as I get stronger and healthier and come to love new things they'll inevitably creep to this journal too and I figured I may as well let this be the first step on the slipperly slope. *wink* Perhaps I'll start a separate LJ for it and thereby keep my writing one separate-ish. We'll see how that works out.
8. My novella debuted ~ Yeah, I know. Considering that the first two on the list were royalty and fan emails, it would seem that this should have been higher. But in true, where the debut was awesome and I was very happy to have it finally come out, it wasn't the same feeling the royalty statement and emails gave me. But as long as it was on the list somewhere, that's what counts.
9. My savings climbed to an amount I haven't seen in years ~ Those tremors you felt, it's what happens when someone does the "no financial worries" happy dance in one spot for three weeks straight. It's in there to go toward our approaching move, but I know that even after the move eats a chunk of it, with the same diligence I've shown these last months I can build it right back up again and beyond. Another reason for the financial happy dance was...
10. I saw my FICO score ~ And it is EXCELLENT. No really, on the chart they give I fall quarter way into the box of excellent. I'd be further in but I don't own any credit cards so I don't have that as a source of building credit. Nor do I plan to get any to increase my credit score (since applying for them temporary decreases you score and I've gotten along fine without them) because excellent is more than enough for me!
11. The beauty of "The Now" crystalized and became prominent ~ Yes, just when you thought I couldn't get more mellow without falling comatose, I've managed to. That's because Zen is like jello, there's always room for more. :)
Now, I've been firmly in the "everything happens for the reason"/"there's no use being upset since anger or depression won't change things", camp since I was in high school/late grade school, learning a little more about how attitude and understanding effect the world around us every few years. It was a way to cope with recurring depression brought on by hormones, glucose issues and becoming an adolescent and thank goodness for that.
As I've become a full adult and increasingly Zen-mellow, fewer and fewer works have spoken to me and been able to teach me something I didn't know or show me something I thought I knew in a new light. But ever the optimist, I keep looking because it's the only way to keep growing. I was blessed that in this last month I found what I was looking for and it allowed me to make peace with some circumstances that even in my Zen-place I was still negatively feeding. Yay for being an eternal student and never giving up on learning as much as possible. :)
12. I opened myself to greater possibility ~ I may be moving to New Mexico. For certain folks reading this, I haven't ruled out Seattle, but New Mexico is calling and after initial resistance there was a sudden breakthrough in giving it serious due consideration. It may just be time to get rid of nearly everything, pick up the rest and head out to new energy. My city is changing, but I don't know if it's changing fast enough to keep me here.
13. An online friend became an in person friend ~ And until I decide about my relocation destination, we are going to take the city by storm come warmer weather. There's an entire agenda to the spring and summer and I can't wait, especially if fall will see me elsewhere. A local adventure to springboard a much larger one.
Bonus Info: This is officially Read and Ebook week. I appreciate all of those who read mine, (and if you'd like to come and hang out and ask questions I'll be at the Samhain Cafe at 7pm Central), and I'd like to encourage you to pick up even more titles if you haven't yet. Please go and check out the following authors that between them offer something for everyone:
Joely Sue Burkhart ~ Nicole Austin ~ Bianca D'arc ~ Tilly Greene ~ Lexxie Couper ~ Ally Blue ~ Ember Case ~ Dayna Hart ~ Carolan Ivey ~ Melissa Lopez ~ Beverly Rae ~ Jody Wallace ~ Jean Marie Ward ~ Gia Dawn ~ Jorrie Spencer ~ S.J. Willing ~ MK Mancos ~ Jenna Leigh ~ Sela Carsen ~ Rebecca Goings ~ Christine Norris ~ Mychael Black ~ Cora Zane ~ Tempest Knight ~ Cassandra Curtis
Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Click on Mr. Linky below to add your link or find others!
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Despite a rough start to the week and some drastic energy dips to overcome I am feeling fantabulous this come-too-early morning. Why did it come to early? Well let's just say a small drip became a big drip and suddenly having to dump out an unexpectedly overflowing bucket before water soaks through the floor and begins dripping on one's neighbors is enough to wake you right up no matter how little sleep you've gotten. Heretofor known as the infamous bucket incident that will likely be referred to in the context of a sudden move in the next six weeks. For now lets move along.
Since I'm feeling so fantabulous and refusing to let grey skies or plumbing issues to get me down, I'm bringing you the 13 Most Awesomest Moments of the Last Month. Yes, "Most Awesomest" was necessary to best convey my current mood. Proper adherence to grammar would have stolen something and I couldn't deny you all the rich experience of me on no sleep and feeling a little perky. So onto the 13 Most Awesomest Moments!
Enjoy.
1. I got my first royalty statement ~ This is awesome for so many reasons, I'll just touch on the most awesomest. It was for February! Yes, I did debut in February but not until February 26th and statements close on the 30th (in this case 29th) of the month. That means I earned out my advance and made profit all in four days!
2. I got my first fan emails ~ Any attempt to explain how it felt would diminish, enough to say that I was moved beyond words. I pray that I'm blessed to feel that way about everyone who is excited enough about sharing my world to send their thoughts to me.
3. I was guaranteed a home for BLOOD SPRITE ~ I have to be all cryptic and vague about this until the ink is dry somewhere. What I can say is that I was guaranted by more than one source within the handful that have it (and it was hinted at by another source), that if we can nail down the details BLOOD SPRITE (the novel you read excerpts of last week) will have a home.
I've kept my options opened until those details are nailed down because until the moment it's on a shelf things can change quickly. But at least now I know that one way or another BLOOD SPRITE and the greater details of my Therian World will be brought to you in '09 (if not before). Wish me luck that the final decision is the best one for the book and the series as a whole.
4. SHIFTING PASSIONS is #6 at MBaM going into it's 3rd week ~ You folks are so awesome! I cannot thank you enough for the great response and what it felt like to have such a positive reception with my first work. The renewed energy from it allowed for numbers 5 and 6.
5. I finalized my revision choices for a novella I'm 97.64% sure is going to be contracted ~ My editor was excited about this project but wanted to hold off until we edited SHIFTING PASSIONS and some of my personal writing quirks were addressed. In the meantime I came up with several revision ideas but couldn't settle on just one. I finally have and will be sending it off next week. Why am I only 97.64% sure if the editor was excited and PASSIONS is doing so well? Because only insane people are ever 100% about things that involve other people, and where I may be crazy, I am by no means insane.
6. I finalized the next four major projects I'm working on ~ After NaNo and realizing I had gone in too many directions at once for one work, things rather stalled with The Forgiven. After a bit of a break to do research I then got caught up in edits and revisions and was getting a little depressed that I didn't know which new things I'd be working on next. That all got settled and things are now arrayed in colorful post-its on my Taskmaster Calendar of Doom. I feel all organized and on track now. :)
7. I'm in a smaller clothing size and I hit a significant weight marker in my health journey ~ I don't talk about health and fitness here too often because it's a topic I could go on about for pages at a time. I have two forums I use for that (which I need to get back to after a bit of exile from the computer the last few weeks) and have kept LJ primarily "weight free". But as I get stronger and healthier and come to love new things they'll inevitably creep to this journal too and I figured I may as well let this be the first step on the slipperly slope. *wink* Perhaps I'll start a separate LJ for it and thereby keep my writing one separate-ish. We'll see how that works out.
8. My novella debuted ~ Yeah, I know. Considering that the first two on the list were royalty and fan emails, it would seem that this should have been higher. But in true, where the debut was awesome and I was very happy to have it finally come out, it wasn't the same feeling the royalty statement and emails gave me. But as long as it was on the list somewhere, that's what counts.
9. My savings climbed to an amount I haven't seen in years ~ Those tremors you felt, it's what happens when someone does the "no financial worries" happy dance in one spot for three weeks straight. It's in there to go toward our approaching move, but I know that even after the move eats a chunk of it, with the same diligence I've shown these last months I can build it right back up again and beyond. Another reason for the financial happy dance was...
10. I saw my FICO score ~ And it is EXCELLENT. No really, on the chart they give I fall quarter way into the box of excellent. I'd be further in but I don't own any credit cards so I don't have that as a source of building credit. Nor do I plan to get any to increase my credit score (since applying for them temporary decreases you score and I've gotten along fine without them) because excellent is more than enough for me!
11. The beauty of "The Now" crystalized and became prominent ~ Yes, just when you thought I couldn't get more mellow without falling comatose, I've managed to. That's because Zen is like jello, there's always room for more. :)
Now, I've been firmly in the "everything happens for the reason"/"there's no use being upset since anger or depression won't change things", camp since I was in high school/late grade school, learning a little more about how attitude and understanding effect the world around us every few years. It was a way to cope with recurring depression brought on by hormones, glucose issues and becoming an adolescent and thank goodness for that.
As I've become a full adult and increasingly Zen-mellow, fewer and fewer works have spoken to me and been able to teach me something I didn't know or show me something I thought I knew in a new light. But ever the optimist, I keep looking because it's the only way to keep growing. I was blessed that in this last month I found what I was looking for and it allowed me to make peace with some circumstances that even in my Zen-place I was still negatively feeding. Yay for being an eternal student and never giving up on learning as much as possible. :)
12. I opened myself to greater possibility ~ I may be moving to New Mexico. For certain folks reading this, I haven't ruled out Seattle, but New Mexico is calling and after initial resistance there was a sudden breakthrough in giving it serious due consideration. It may just be time to get rid of nearly everything, pick up the rest and head out to new energy. My city is changing, but I don't know if it's changing fast enough to keep me here.
13. An online friend became an in person friend ~ And until I decide about my relocation destination, we are going to take the city by storm come warmer weather. There's an entire agenda to the spring and summer and I can't wait, especially if fall will see me elsewhere. A local adventure to springboard a much larger one.
Bonus Info: This is officially Read and Ebook week. I appreciate all of those who read mine, (and if you'd like to come and hang out and ask questions I'll be at the Samhain Cafe at 7pm Central), and I'd like to encourage you to pick up even more titles if you haven't yet. Please go and check out the following authors that between them offer something for everyone:
Joely Sue Burkhart ~ Nicole Austin ~ Bianca D'arc ~ Tilly Greene ~ Lexxie Couper ~ Ally Blue ~ Ember Case ~ Dayna Hart ~ Carolan Ivey ~ Melissa Lopez ~ Beverly Rae ~ Jody Wallace ~ Jean Marie Ward ~ Gia Dawn ~ Jorrie Spencer ~ S.J. Willing ~ MK Mancos ~ Jenna Leigh ~ Sela Carsen ~ Rebecca Goings ~ Christine Norris ~ Mychael Black ~ Cora Zane ~ Tempest Knight ~ Cassandra Curtis
Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Click on Mr. Linky below to add your link or find others!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 04:22 pm (UTC)--Darla
http://nichtszusagen.blogspot.com
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 09:16 pm (UTC)~X
TT
Date: 2008-03-13 04:29 pm (UTC)I wish there was a way to comment un-anonymously without being a live journal member. My blog and my TT can be found here:
www.liveandletdi.com
Re: TT
Date: 2008-03-13 09:19 pm (UTC)have you tried to use the Open ID option? I know it should be turned on for my journal.
~X
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 04:33 pm (UTC)Please continue.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 09:23 pm (UTC)Glad you came by :)
Hugs,
~X
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 04:46 pm (UTC)The other place I blog has got one up about fairy tale revisions: http://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 09:25 pm (UTC)Thanks for the visit :)
~X
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 05:07 pm (UTC)PS: When does the beta reading begin? My cable won't be hooked up for a while and I can only play so much Wii bowling :)
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 09:29 pm (UTC)Did you get a chance to get Shifting Passions before everything went south? I can get an author copy to you if not. Um, what I meant to say was *Congratulations* you are today's winner of a copy of Shifting Passions. *Smile*
~X
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 05:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 05:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 09:31 pm (UTC)Thanks for making sure to come back and let me know the comment was yours, I always appreciate that. :)
~X
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 08:19 pm (UTC)Keep up the good work and send some zen my way, will you? My kids need their heads knocked...
--Susan Helene Gottfried
http://westofmars.blogspot.com
no subject
Date: 2008-03-13 09:32 pm (UTC)Hugs,
~X
no subject
Date: 2008-03-14 12:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-14 12:43 am (UTC)'Zen is like jello'
SO glad your month has been filled with such awesomest moments!
julia
http://julia-mindovermatter.blogspot.com/index.html
no subject
Date: 2008-03-14 02:38 am (UTC)http://singleparentsunite.blogspot.com/
From the Gal Herself at One Gal's Musings
Date: 2008-03-14 03:26 am (UTC)From Damozel at The Flatland Almanack
Date: 2008-03-14 06:12 pm (UTC)from Nicholas
Date: 2008-03-14 09:11 pm (UTC)http://agentlemansdomain.typepad.com/