Hey, remember a few weeks back (two weeks ago, today, in fact!), before I got my first publishing contract? Remember how I could sit all day on my deck, and write? Yeah, that’s not happening anymore. It’s one of the unspoken ironies of publication: The minute you get that first contract, is the minute when your actual writing time suddenly diminishes.

Don’t get me wrong — I’m not complaining! But between choosing keywords to describe the book (is 35 too many…?), poring over cover art/artists in order to make the LIFE-ALTERING decision about how I want my book to look and feel (what if both turn out to be “terrible,” and no one buys it?), and begging my already-overworked writing partners for cover blurbs — between all those things, I haven’t had time to finish my current WIP (work-in-progress), ALOS. Which was my original goal for the summer.

A summer which is now officially over, as I went back to work full-time yesterday. (For anyone new to the saga of my life, I’m a math teacher by day.  :)) I’m actually excited for the school year to begin. But along with work comes a host of other busy-making things, like my son, who starts college in a few weeks, or my daughter, who is only playing 500 sports this year (down from 5000 last year), and in 29 AP-level classes. I might be exaggerating here, but still.

Anyway! I’d better get back to it. Maybe I’ll create a Facebook poll and let you all weigh in on what style you find most eye-catching. Of course, it’s hard when you haven’t read the book yet. But it’s better than me having to make all the decisions!!  :)