So, haven't been here in a while. Reasons for that are two-fold. First one, I have been out in life traveling and connecting with people, for real, not on a computer screen. I have never been one of these people who needs to blog out of obligation, if I feel I have something to say then chances are I'll say it. Too much time is spent on computers anyway and I am only keeping you on it longer. A summer spent face to face with some amazing characters made for great stories and even greater memories. Second reason, I have been busy. Lots of cool projects found their way to me and most of them on tight deadlines, who remembers the nights you slept, eh? And then there's the book! Let me run little timeline by you:
April 2012: On a mild Wednesday evening I sit down and start typing, for what I'm not quite sure, but I start at the beginning so I know pacing myself is key (ultra-runner mentality)
August 2012: On a balmy evening towards the end of the month I start to crack up, I have couple hundred pages under my belt and am seriously running out of stamina. I decide to just push through and work days teaching English and spending nights falling asleep with post-its stuck to my face and felt-tip pen ink on my pillow covers (I have a weird process), the staple dishes of this particular week are Nutella and pizza. Luckily my friends Josh and Jenn take me in and listen to my woes, and feed me real food.
September 2012: I am done, or so I think. I meet a guy through mutual friend who says he wants to see my manuscript. Said guy is named Clif and is beyond goodness in human form, he works for National Geographic and wants to edit my story, on his own time. Jackpot.
June 2013: Clif and I work sporadically, binging on edits and throwing suggestions at each other, he in Singapore, me in Paris. He brings a different writer out in me, teaches me to be myself, but with sprinklings on top. Kind of like an ice-cream cone with typewriter (hey, I'm a writer, I make stuff up)
July 2013: After five edits I am done, I go on holiday. Boy is the summer the best one ever.
August 2013: After mailing a few publishers I get into a great relationship with WinePress Publishing in Seattle. After a some Skype discussions we agree on a course of action to best represent my book. I am happy, contracts are signed, I don't sleep much that night. The end.
So folks, as it stands I have to go through a copy-edit and some proofing, cover design and other tinkering but am looking at April or May next year. This is a great milestone for me because as a writer there is a certain need to feel approval from people, even more so from people in the business. The first time anyone read my book was Clif, and I didn't sleep that night either. Hemingway once said
“There is nothing to writing, all you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed”
It is true to a certain extent, it takes time and toll, patience and courage, and above all, faith. I always believed in the intent of what I was doing even during the darkest parts. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I look forward to sharing it with those kind enough to be interested.