I'm pretty excited about it for a variety of reasons, but one of them is COLOR!! I had purple hair back when we lived in the PNW, and I dyed it blonde before coming back to the South. Well, for the past year, I've been trying to get my hair healthy from all those dye jobs. And it's been boring brown. Ho-hum. With short hair, I can dye my hair a variety of colors, and we'll just cut away the damaged parts. Voila! So, I'm headed back in June to get this whole thing turned white-blonde. And then, I'll have purple added to my bangs (and possibly other areas--the temple pieces or top of the spikes) in prep for the Raleigh SuperCon, where I am a feature guest. All my promo pics show purple hair, so I gotta give the people what they expect! ;)
I'll be honest, I was a little wary of chopping off all my hair. Our culture, and a lot of men I know, place value on long hair as a sign of femaleness or femininity. So, in this sense, I'm so thankful I went to live in the Pacific Northwest for a while. I grew up in the Bible Belt South, and I never felt comfortable expressing my artistic funky side. But when I went to the PNW, that sort of thing is embraced and celebrated. I learned just how big and diverse this country really is. And I learned it's okay to be me. It's okay not to fit the status quo.
I'm an artist. I'm expressive. I like to try new things. That's who I am. And that's more than okay.
I'm also incredibly thankful to have a husband who not only accepts this part of my personality but embraces it. When I asked him what he thought about cutting my hair, he said, "Do it. One of the things I love about you is that you're bold and try new things. And changing your hair is one of the ways you do that. So, if you want to cut it, cut it."
When I texted him this picture yesterday, he replied back, "This is about as cute as humanly possible." He loves me just like I am, in all my variety of shapes, colors, and hairstyles. And I appreciate that about him so very much. I'm completely free to be me.
In other news, I recently found out that the cover artist for both BookFish Books and Tenacious Books Publishing is taking a summer vacation sabbatical. Why is that a big deal you ask? Well, she designs the final print covers for the books, and we have TWO releasing while she's away. That means all edits must be completed and all formatting done BEFORE she leaves! We had a schedule in place to complete said edits and formatting in June, but that deadline had to be seriously pushed up. So, I've been working with our authors and editors to get these books ready. Once they come to the formatter, they have to be done-done. No more major changes once a book enters formatting. We can make minor changes (a comma here, a word swap there), but the meat and bones have to be mostly done.
Releases July 25, 2017
So, big props to the editors and authors for getting everything done and to me for formatting. I'm happy to report that the formatting for ALL summer release books (except The Beacon, which releases after our cover artist's vacation) is DONE! <high fives to my editing team and authors>
And Chrissy Lessey is even offering a sneak peek of her prologue for The Coven, which not only highlights her amazing writing but my formatting as well!
Despite all the work and hectic deadlines, Deek and I managed to have some fun hiking and attending a local festival!
The journey to who-knows-where
Hubba hubba
Gorgeous bridges
A treat for our hard work! ;)
Representing BookFish!
Enjoying a local festival
This little presh guy turned one!
When we adopted him, the shelter thought he was about six months old, and that was six months ago!
Happy Birthday, Gussie!
We adore you!
Until next time--BE YOU!
