Push Present
One of the amazing things that’s been happening recently are the messages I have been getting from readers of the book or my blog, coming quite literally from all over the world. E-mail and blog comments have made it easy for people to get in touch with authors, and I am really happy about that, and greatly enjoy the feedback. As a new author who is a control freak and his own worst critic, it really helps to hear from people as I struggle through the home stretch of book two, and try to keep a blog that is both enjoyable to read and helps keep people up to date with book-related nonsense.
Surprisingly, quite a few messages have come from people who have never read The Painted/Warded Man, and just enjoy my blog, be it for the baby pictures or my personal musings on the writing process and the transition of my work from a hobby to a profession. A lot of budding writers have gotten in touch with me about my craft-related posts (see the “Craft” category in the sidebar), and I am really happy that people are finding help and inspiration in my experiences. I only wish I had time to do more.
One of these blog readers, Courtney, wrote to me last week to thank me for my posts on writing, particularly the challenges of writing as a new parent with a baby in the house. You see, Courtney is in a family way herself, and is (justifiably) worried about how it will affect her writing time. Boy, can I ever relate.
In the midst of our conversation, I learned two things:
The first is that Courtney lives in the US, and The Warded Man doesn’t launch here until March 10, 2009, so she has yet to read it.
The second is that the due date for her son’s birth is, you guessed it, March 10, 2009.
So I am making this promise to Courtney, with all cyberspace as my witness. If she delivers on launch day, I am sending her a free autographed copy. I wish I could also send her the time to read it.
Oh, and Courtney? If you’re still considering baby names, you could do a lot worse than “Arlen”.
If you’re still considering baby names, you could do a lot worse than “Arlen”.
It is a rather haunting name. Arlen… Haunting… Somehow that makes me think of a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania…
Looks like your chances of actually having to fork over said book are diminishing…I ended up in the hospital last week with preterm contractions. They stopped them with drugs and all is fine for now (though I was on quasi bed rest for a week), but making it all the way to March 10 is suddenly seeming a lot less likely. 😛 Guess I had better hurry up and finish the draft I’m working on!
Oh yeah, and in addition to your posts on writing, I am loving the pics of Cassie. She is adorable!
-Courtney
I’m glad to hear the baby is okay and it wasn’t anything serious. Don’t worry about the book. I was going to send it regardless of when he was born (don’t tell anyone, or you will ruin my miserly image). Just remember to send me your address in March.