So I wrote a book ...

This actually happened. And, as of two days ago, you can buy one of your very own. Holy crap, you guys. Holy crap. I'm kind of insanely proud of this.

cover design copyright 2012 by
Danielle Rose Fisher

The book has been several years in the making - I first wrote about putting together a book of short stories in June last year, but most of the pieces in the collection predate that intention. One piece even dates back to high school ("The Name of the Father," if you're curious), a handful to college, and the rest to the years between college and now. Only one piece is younger than my intention to put the book together in the first place - I went through about ten drafts with a placeholder page declaring:

I am the missing piece in this compilation! I plan to be something more lighthearted and prose-shaped but I have no idea what I am! It’s all very confusing.

I finally landed on a short piece I liked between December and January, and "The Writing Man" was born (incidentally, located in an entirely different part of the book than its placeholder was).

And then, of course, the months of torturous editing and retooling and reordering (and one hilarious bout of re-titling of the entire book, which is a FANTASTIC crisis of faith to have right before you're ready to send your manuscript off to the copyrighting gods).

And throughout most of this process, and certainly in the blogging posts, I've been writing about all the things I did to put this together - which was a lot, but I do want to take a moment to acknowledge that there were some very helpful hands out there, making my life easier. I mention them all in the acknowledgments, but it behooves me to voice it again here. Without the helpful comments and critique of the rockstars that are Brian, Judy, Grace, Lauren, and Everett, this book would be waaaaay messier. Also, typos. Several stories have radically reworked endings thanks to their insight, and I am beyond grateful. And Dianne L. Durante's book, Step-by-Step Kindle Publishing, allowed me to actually self-format the book and make sure I had all the necessary pieces assembled without mucking the whole thing up and having to restart five times. Her book is basically the equivalent of an Ikea furniture manual. And then the insanely talented Danielle Rose Fisher designed my cover, and MY GOD, have you seen how gorgeous it is? And then Lisette, brilliant lovely Lisette, offered to help me with the whole marketing thing, which is undeniably my weakness. Bless all of your hearts.

So. Yes. I wrote a book. I wrote a freaking book. It's pretty cool. And it's a fast read. I promise. AND YOU CAN PURCHASE A COPY OF YOUR VERY OWN BY CLICKING HERE.

*ahem*

Description: In scribbled notes, in lists - scraps of paper tell a life. So begins this collection of short pieces and poetry - some funny, some tragic, and some just small moments in time. With each stolen glimpse into the lives of this diverse cast of characters, the reader cannot help but wonder how much is fiction and how much is heartbreakingly not. A stolen scarf, a stolen moment, a flower, a legend or two, and the ability of silence to communicate more than language - a melancholy air threads through this patchwork of characters on the edge of discovery.