Countdown to Novel Publication

The official publication date for KEOWEE VALLEY is September 15, 2012!

I say "official," and that's what I've been told ... so, hopefully, this won't change.

It's hard for me to believe, and oh so very exciting: in 60 days, my first novel will become a real book, out in the word, corporeal, for all to see and hold and--dear Lord, please--read. I've spent a good deal of time avoiding this thought--my publication date--because, much as I hate to admit, I've got a bit of the fatalist in me. I need to hold that sucker in my hands before I truly believe that it's real.

There are a great many things that will occur in my writing world before September 15th.

1. The cover design must be completed by my publisher's design team.
2. More endorsements/blurbs from authors who are reading KEOWEE VALLEY need to come in. (Man, oh man, I hope they do. Though I've thankfully had some wonderful advance praise so far, I've got more great authors reading the ARC right now. Fingers crossed.)
3. A book launch party must be planned.
4. An author photo for the back of the book must be chosen.
5. I've got to do all sorts of pre-publication organizing, having to do with promotional materials, press releases, book store events and speaking engagements, etc.  

Here are the things that have to occur in my personal world: (What? I can't just smile and carry my book around like a blankie?)

1. My daughter's 3rd birthday (and party). Yikes.
2. A photo shoot with my very talented cousin-in-law, Paula Player, a photographer in Myrtle Beach (more to come about this), about 6 hours away from where I live.
3. A beach vacation with my family (including my parents, sister and brother-in-law, and all our dogs). Woohoo!
4. Planning for the English courses I'm teaching this Fall. Which begin next month. Oh, law.
5. A total body makeover, including toned abs, sculpted arms, and legs like Gwyneth Paltrow. Why are you laughing?
6. The possible almost maybe perhaps chance consideration of starting work on Baby #2. Did I just type that out loud?
7. Oh, yeah, and I'm still in graduate school.

All of these things are good things. I feel very lucky, and most fortunate, to have them occurring at this point in my life.

But the book, my novel ... the book is the thing.

Right now, it still looks like this:



The Advance Review Copy of KEOWEE VALLEY

Sort of like an elegant phone book, right? I can't wait to see what cover design my publishers put together. It's been an interesting process, the back-and-forth about the cover, but I'm confident it'll be a good one because I promised them my third-born child if it is. Did I just write that out loud?

More to come on the novel publication countdown, the process, and how I'm handling (or not) motherhood, wifehood, teacherhood, studenthood, and writerhood along with it. That's a lot of hoods.