Polilla Writes Reviews The Dragondain

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Crossover: the Moon Realm Invades Barnes and Noble Bookstores Everywhere

Crossover

The Moon Realm Invades Barnes and Noble Bookstores Everywhere

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I wish I had a more exciting tale to tell, but getting a self-published book into Barnes and Noble is all about time, diligence, and whether or not they want your book.

In a nutshell, here’s how I got the Moon Realm series into Barnes and Noble. Last fall I submitted to their Small Press Dept., at their Headquarters on 5th Ave, in New York. On their website, they said that if I didn’t hear back from them I should resend, as they get 2,000 submissions a week, which means, every once and a while, they have chuck everything and start over. I got a letter back from them maybe two weeks later requesting paperback copies of The Moon Coin (the only Moon Realm book in paper at that time). That was back in November. My next task was to get a distributor or wholesaler. B&N had sent me a list of them. I sent submissions two wholesalers that could work out for me. One replied in a week with a no. The other, Baker and Taylor, took longer. On March 26th, B&N sent me another letter saying they still wanted The Moon Coin, but that since they hadn’t heard from me in a long time, they were going to take their offer off the table 30 days from the date of that letter. That seemed more than fair to me, generous, in fact. It was a bit of a bummer, though, as I’d decided in my mind that Baker and Taylor, not having gotten back to me—I’d submitted to them in January—wasn’t interested in my book. Then, on April 11th, Baker and Taylor sent an email to Gibbering Gnome press saying “We are pleased to inform you that after reviewing your materials, we would like to have your company become a vendor with Baker & Taylor.”

That was a fine day.

Since the second book in my series, The Dragondain, had come out in December, and since my original contact from Barnes and Noble had changed since last November, I decided to send my new B&N contact new copies of both titles. She called a few weeks later to say they were going to order The Moon Coin, and that The Dragondain was now being reviewed by their buyer. During that time, Gibbering Gnome Press set up its account with B&T. I sent copies of books to my contact at B&T at that time, too. Soon, I was in B&T’s system.

On July 18th, the day before I was leaving for vacation, the first two purchase orders from B&T rolled in. So, instead of packing, I spent the evening thumbing through a 55 page document on how to make a proper shipping label for B&T’s warehouse. It involved me—I’m Gibbering Gnome’s typesetter, among other things—generating a label containing six barcodes. I’d never made barcodes before. I mean, I’d order them from Bowkers, of course, but never made them from scratch. By midnight, though, everything was boxed and ready to ship. I did what packing I could, then finished up in the morning. We sent the books off as we left town.

Unrelated to all this, I’d been in contact with a B&N Children’s Book Manager since last summer. Her store is in Utah. She’d contacted me on GoodReads, and wanted to know why my books weren’t in B&N’s catalog, Bookmaster. I’d told her I was trying my best. We kept in contact during this whole process, and, now that my books were in the system, she ordered copies for her store. She’s picked out a display, and Gibbering Gnome Press has sent her posters and postcards adverts.

Now all I need to do is sit back and watch the purchase orders roll in, right? Ha! If only it was so easy! But seriously, my job now is to run around to local B&Ns and independent bookstores, handing out free review copies and letting them know that I’m in B&T, or, in the case of the B&Ns, that I’m in Bookmaster. If I’m lucky, I might be able to get in on a few signings.

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Copyright © 2011, 2012 by Richard Due. All rights reserved.

Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^®

The Moon Realm^®

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Jen’s Book Closet Reviews The Dragondain

“And while this title is considered middle-grade fiction (ages 7-12) due to the ages of its protagonists, it is so much more than that. It is an addictive drug for those of us who have lovingly flipped through its pages. It is the fantastical story you dreamed of while waiting to fall asleep. It is youth brought to life. It is all the things I still wish I could do. Things like have adventures of my very own.”

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Click HERE or the image directly above to read the review.

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The Mothership has Placed an Order for Books!

My Barnes and Noble rep called me and said she could see The Moon Coin in Baker & Taylor’s catalog, and that she was ordering copies for Barnes and Noble’s brick and mortar bookstores!!! She also said that their book buyer is currently reviewing The Dragondain (which I  sent them just last week).

Update: My Barnes and Noble rep sent me a letter confirming that The Dragondain has also been approved by their book buyer, and that paperback copies have been ordered. Woot!

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Good news for Moon Realm fans! Baker & Taylor has picked up Gibbering Gnome Press as a vendor.

Which means . . . after I slay a thousand forms, hire TRON to break into B&N’s catalog system, kill the witch, and bring back the broom to Oz . . . after all that . . . The Moon Coin is headed for Barnes & Noble!

Here’s how it happened: back in the fall, Barnes and Noble sent me a letter saying they wanted to carry The Moon Coin in their brick and mortar bookstores. The problem is that B&N doesn’t acquire books from publishers and authors, they get them from distributors and wholesalers.

Well, this week I heard back from Baker & Taylor. I’VE GOT THE BROOM AND I’M HEADING BACK TO OZ! My book is going to be available to B&N, (among many other bookstores), and a 95% of all libraries!

I have no idea how long it’s going to take me to get back to Oz, though. A couple months maybe? There’s just never a roving band of blood-thirsty flying monkeys around when you need one. Have you ever noticed that? But when I do get back, and into the Barnes & Noble catalog, B&Ns everywhere will be able to stock the series!

I’ve already heard from one B&N children’s dept manager who says she already has a special display in mind. She also plans to put up posters! Yikes!

One B&N store down, 722 to go.

In other news, I’m back up on Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116346566164783346454

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Fiction Books Reviews THE DRAGONDAIN

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“The magic is more mesmerising, the adventures more alluring, the 

building sense of intrigue and danger more tantalising and evocative.”

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Click HERE or the image above for the review.

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THE DRAGONDAIN: Unleashed!

Gibbering Gnome Press has paperback copies of THE DRAGONDAIN in stock!

Book Two / A Moon Realm Novel

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The tale continues . . .

The Chronicles of Narnia meets Game of Thrones

Precocious reader to adult: 304 paperback pages, 85,000 words, full-color illustrations. Book two of the Moon Realm series.

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Gold Medal Winning Series of the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award.

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Two chapters formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF.

Please share these files with your friends. Enjoy.

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The Dragondain

Now available in paperback and ebook.

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes iBookstore.

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Paperback Edition

On Sale at Amazon

Click HERE.

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 The Moon Coin

Book One / A Moon Realm Novel

Now available in paperback and eBook.

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Amazon, Second Looks Books, and Back to the Books.

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Paperback Edition

On Sale at Amazon

Click HERE.

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Available for E-Readers:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes iBookstore

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved. Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^® The Moon Realm^®

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THE DRAGONDAIN Print Edition has Launched!

“Tales, unlike stories, never lie. You see, a tale is an account of

things in their due order, often divulged secretly, or as gossip.

Would you like to hear one?” —Lord Autumn

It’s the middle of the night, you need to send your brother to the Moon Realm, and he won’t wake up. So you improvise. . . .

When a confused Jasper awakes, he’s convinced he’s dreaming. But by the time he meets Greydor, Jasper understands that this is no dream. In fact, persuading the King of the Rinn to work with the men of Dain to defeat their common enemy is a nightmare. Then there’s the other side of the coin: convincing Tavin and Dubb that saddling a Rinn isn’t certain death. (“It’ll be fun!”) And perhaps even a greater worry: can he make friends with Dubb’s daughter Darce before she punches his lights out?

Lily has problems, too. There’s a little mousie scratching in her closet. Or at least, it sounds like a little mousie. Oh, and her second confrontation with Curse, and trying to form her first peerin. (Don’t you have to be from Dain to do that?) And where’s Ebb?

One thing’s for sure: now that Lily and Jasper have entered the Moon Realm, nothing can ever be the same again.

Illustrated by Carolyn Arcabascio. Book Two in the award winning Moon Realm Series.

For a Two Chapter Preview: click HERE.

Book Two / A Moon Realm Novel

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The tale continues . . .

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Two chapters formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF.

Please share these files with your friends. Enjoy.

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The Dragondain

Book Two / A Moon Realm Novel

Now available in paperback and ebook.

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes iBookstore, and Second Looks Books.

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 The Moon Coin

Book One / A Moon Realm Novel

Now available in paperback and eBook...

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes iBookstore, and Second Looks Books.

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved. Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^® The Moon Realm^®

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Howling Turtle Reviews THE DRAGONDAIN

Howling Turtle give 5 turtles to The Dragondain!

Click HERE or the image above for the review.

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Sun-dappled Bluelines

Straight from the typesetting department

of Gibbering Gnome Press:

Here be the completed bluelines to the print edition of The Dragondain. I took this pic from Gibbering Gnome Press’s natural light studio (also known as my porch). I’ve burned the publication files to disc. Tomorrow, I’ll have another sample cover made—for correction verification—then it’s straight off to the printer. I’m really hoping this will be the only round of corrections, but I never really know until the boxes start appearing—like magic—in Gibbering Gnome Press’s loading dock (also known as my garage). For example, this time I had to change things around in the front matter to acknowledge that I’d won a Moonbeam award, which I still find hard to believe! Part of me thinks that if I see it in print, then maybe the news will get through my thick head and into my wee little brain. It’s so surreal. Maybe . . . maybe I’m in the Matrix! Now that seems much more likely. Yeah, that’s gotta be it: I’m in the Matrix! That explains SO much. I can’t wait to start dodging bullets in slow mo! Or run up walls and jump off buildings. Welp, off to go practice my new powers. Wish me luck!

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Cover Reveal for the Print Edition of THE DRAGONDAIN

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Click the image directly above or HERE for a larger image.

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Copyright © 2012 by Richard Due. All rights reserved. Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^® The Moon Realm^®

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THE DRAGONDAIN

The Dragondain Now Available on

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes

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The Chronicles of Narnia meets Game of Thrones

Precocious reader to adult: 304 paperback pages, 85,000 words, full-color illustrations. Book one of the Moon Realm series.

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When Lily and Jasper’s uncle disappears, Lily must search for him in the most unlikely of places: the fading realms of her childhood bedtime tales.

Gold Medal Winner of the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award.

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It’s the middle of the night, you need to send your brother to the Moon Realm, and he won’t wake up. So you improvise. . . .

When a confused Jasper awakes, he’s convinced he’s dreaming. But by the time he meets Greydor, Jasper understands that this is no dream. In fact, persuading the King of the Rinn to work with the men of Dain to defeat their common enemy is a nightmare. Then there’s the other side of the coin: convincing Tavin and Dubb that saddling a Rinn isn’t certain death. (“It’ll be fun!”) And perhaps even a greater worry: can he make friends with Dubb’s daughter Darce before she punches his lights out?

Lily has problems, too. There’s a little mousie scratching in her closet. Or at least, it sounds like a little mousie. Oh, and her second confrontation with Curse, and trying to form her first peerin. (Don’t you have to be from Dain to do that?) And where’s Ebb?

One thing’s for sure: now that Lily and Jasper have entered the Moon Realm, nothing can ever be the same again.

Illustrated by Carolyn Arcabascio. Volume Two of the The Moon Realm Series.

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..

Two chapters formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF.

Please share these files with your friends. Enjoy.

..

The Dragondain

Now available in paperback and ebook.

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes iBookstore.

..

Paperback Edition

On Sale at Amazon

Click HERE.

,,

❍

..

 The Moon Coin

Book One / A Moon Realm Novel

Now available in paperback and eBook.

..

Amazon, Second Looks Books, and Back to the Books.

..

Paperback Edition

On Sale at Amazon

Click HERE.

..

Available for E-Readers:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes iBookstore

..

❍

..

Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved. Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^® The Moon Realm^®

Read Full Post »

Cover Reveal: THE DRAGONDAIN

Cover Reveal for Book 2 in the Moon Realm Series

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eBook version available now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Paperback edition to follow later this year.

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❍

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved. Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^® The Moon Realm^®

Read Full Post »

Preview: THE DRAGONDAIN / A Moon Realm Novel

Book Two / A Moon Realm Novel

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The tale continues . . .

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Two chapters formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF.

Please share these files with your friends. Enjoy.

..

The Dragondain

Book Two / A Moon Realm Novel

Now available in paperback and ebook.

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes iBookstore.

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Paperback Edition Regularly $12.99

On Sale at Amazon

20% Off

Click HERE.

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❍

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 The Moon Coin

Book One / A Moon Realm Novel

Now available in paperback and eBook.

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Amazon, Second Looks Books, and Back to the Books.

..

Paperback Edition Regularly $12.99

On Sale at Amazon

20% Off

Click HERE.

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Available for E-Readers:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes iBookstore

..

❍

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved. Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^® The Moon Realm^®

Read Full Post »

The Dragondain are coming!

The first two chapters are almost ready as a free preview.

Illustrations by Carolyn Arcabascio.

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Copyright © 2011 by Richard Due. All rights reserved. Gibbering Gnome Press,

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink^® The Moon Realm^®

Read Full Post »

The Moon Coin’s Results in Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing Select Program

The Moon Coin’s Results in Amazon’s

Kindle Direct Publishing Select Program

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First off, this was my first experience with Amazon’s KDP Select Program. And before listing my book, I read about a lot of other people’s experiences with the program in order to form some reasonable expectations. But I couldn’t find anybody reporting their experience who wrote for middle grade, tweens, or young adult. On the low end, I was bracing myself for as few as 500 downloads (over three days). On the high end, 2,500.

I’d been putting off entering the Select program because The Moon Coin had yet to meet two goals I’d set up for it. One, I’d wanted to have thirty or more good reviews on TMC’s Amazon page. Two, I’d wanted to have the print edition out and available for purchase on Amazon. Why wait for the print edition, you say? Well, the target audience for TMC still reads mostly paper, and not by a small percentage. According to industry stats, 80% of middle grade and tween still get their books in paper. So, logically, I wanted any parents previewing books for their kids’ summer reading list to have the option of ordering a print copy. I got the reviews I’d wanted within six months, but it wasn’t until June 20, 2012 that I had the print edition in place.

Next I had to pick the time and length of the sale. Given that it was late June, it seemed immediately obvious to me that I should wait until the Fourth of July weekend. The only problem there was . . . the Fourth of July was on a Wednesday this year! After thinking about it for a bit, I decided not to run it on the actual day of the 4th, since that’s a really busy day and evening, mostly spent outdoors with friends or family. So that meant I had to choose between the weekend before or the weekend after. In the end, I picked July 5, 6, and 7. My reasoning being that it gave me a bit more time to prepare.

Prep time. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on something I knew nothing about, so I opted for free sites who advertise Free Kindle Books. There are lots of them, just Google: “Free Kindle Books” and you’ll see what I’m talking about. I did do one paid ad with Kindle Nation Daily for $30, which I believe got me a one day advert on the 5th. I really like Kindle Nation Daily; they run a really smart website. I’ve worked with them before and plan to work with them again.

On the night of the 5th, TMC’s ranking was around 370,000 in the paid store. I waited up until 1:30am, thinking I’d be able to catch TMC’s flip from the paid store to the free store, but no go. As near as I can tell, TMC went live on the Kindle Free Store sometime between 1:30 and 7am, which is when I first saw it in the free store, but with no ranking. I checked it pretty regularly after that. The first ranking appeared at 8am: TMC was #6,630 and had landed at #59 on the Action and Adventure top 100 list. I was shocked.

From that point on, about every two hours or so, my ranking cut in half: #3,525, #1,933, #842, #408, #218. It kept climbing on the Action Adventure list, too: #43, #27, #15, #8, #6. TMC popped up on two other top 100 lists: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, and Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Magic, and was climbing those lists as well.

When I hit #135 on the master Kindle Free Store list, two things happened: first, I entertained the idea, for the first time, that I had a chance of hitting the top 100 list for the entire Kindle Free Store; second, I didn’t have a heart attack, for which I am eternally grateful. You see, I knew if I could get on that master top 100 list, then it would be like, well, did you see that movie where Vin Diesel hits the nitrous oxide then holds onto the steering wheel for dear life?

Midnight of the 5th, TMC hit #117 on the master list. But for the first time since hitting the list, it had begun to slow, and it was slowing fast. At around 2am, I decided it just wasn’t going to happen. Then, just before I went to bed, I hit the refresh one more time . . . #98. The Moon Coin had hit the top 100 in the big list. I went to bed happy, fully expecting on waking to find that TMC had dropped off. But I didn’t care. My little book had made it to the top 100. I was very proud.

But when I woke up on the 6th, TMC was at #70, landing it in the top 10 on all three of the sub category top 100 lists. (I think, at that time, it was #2 on the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Magic list.)

I went to work as usual that morning, to our bookstore, where that paperback edition is selling like gangbusters. Over the course of the work day, TMC remained static on the list. After work, it rose to #46, then to #43, and finally to #42.

In the end, The Moon Coin was downloaded 8,981 times during the three days it was available.

It hit #1 on Amazon’s Best Seller Free Kindle list for children’s Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Magic list; #1 on the children’s Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror list; and #2 on the Action/Adventure list.

After the sale was over, The Moon Coin instantly flipped back to the Kindle Paid Store, right back to where it started: 370,000. Within an hour, it shot up to 70,000. Then it jumped up to 22,000. Over the next couple weeks, it hung out around the 20,000s, getting as high as 14,384.

In order to get on the Action and Adventure list for the paid store, it needed to get to 4,500. TMC wasn’t going to make it.

The Aftermath. TMC is sinking back down in the paid store ranking (currently 141,177). I know that many of the 8,981 people who downloaded it may never get around to reading it (there are just too many books and not enough time). And I know that 99% of the people who downloaded it were deep into a book already (or series) when they downloaded it. Realistically, over the next nine months, I’ll be lucky if a third of those people give TMC a shot, and read a chapter or more.

Happily, I received a flurry of attention and ratings from the fast readers who put TMC on the top of their reading list, and the response was unanimously wonderful.

So, ultimately, what did I get from Amazon’s Kindle Select Program?

Seeds. I’ve planted thousands of seeds. Will I get a forest someday? Only time will tell, but I can’t worry or think about that. I have work to do.

The Dragondain, book 2 in the Moon Realm Series, is due to publish as an ebook on September the 8th. And next year, The Murk, and the year after that, The Ninth Embasea, and the year after that . . .

Update: The Dragondain, book 2, has launched! And TMC will use its last two promo days Sept. 20, 21. I’ll report back on those numbers when I have them.

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The Joys of Sick, or, Knowing When Your Book is Finished

I reached one of my favorite book-writing milestones today. I’m sick of my book! Don’t worry. It’s mostly temporary, I hope, and it happened at just the right time: seven years and about twenty-five editing passes in. (If I’d gotten sick of it earlier—trust me—I’d be seriously depressed.)

What did I do to celebrate, you ask? Well, yesterday, as the printer in my hallway was still warming down its jets (ink-low lights blinking furiously), I slid into the Post Office just ten minutes before closing time, slapped a delivery conformation sticker on my handmade cardboard box, and sent it roaring off to Carolyn Arcabascio, the illustrator extraordinaire for The Moon Realm Series.

Sure, The Dragondain still needs more work, but I’m looking forward to being truly ill? during the final read-through and polish. 😀 I’M SO HAPPY!

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