Victory! I’ve nearly doubled my word count in just a couple of hours, and it’s all thanks to having enough of a salvageable first draft to cut and paste into the rewrite.
Granted, I still have a long way to go to tell the story I need to tell. I used multiple POVs in both books, and I had to cut the secondary POVs from the first book. Though I think it still works for Book 2, I know my publishers won’t want to put out a sequel that differs that far in format from the first book. It’s going to be tricky telling the story I need to tell through only one character’s eyes, but hey, that’s what telepathy’s for right? 😉
I’m feeling more confident that I’ll have a workable draft in the next couple of months, despite having a lot of other work to do. I’ve got work-work, SCA-work, and some personal projects like gifts and such as well. Still, my mornings are my own for a while, so I have time. I don’t have a specific deadline for the Book 2 draft yet, but I should still keep pushing myself so I have something for betas to read soonish. Not necessarily by the fall, but by the end of the year for sure. And I think that’s a reasonable self-deadline.
I’m stoked for Tucson Comic Con, but I have work to do to prep for that as well. I’ll have to purchase books to sell at con, and I’ll have to get promotional materials printed and ready (once the publisher has sent the files to me). Still, I’ve been making little graphics of quotes from ABNORMAL and posting them on Instagram about once a week or so. I’m trying not to do too many, because I don’t want to give away too much, but a few here and there to get attention and garner interest.
I found an app that lets me do cool stuff like that. It’s called CTDesigns, and though it has annoying ads immediately following any saving of an image, it’s pretty cool. I can use my own photos, too, which turned out pretty cool in this one:
Not bad for a cell phone image of a full moon, huh? I need to take more pics that I can use, because then the images are my own. I’ve got more, but I want to release them on Instagram/Twitter first. If I don’t, I won’t be able to keep track of what I’ve posted and what I haven’t. Lol
Things are all moving along. I just need to keep on trucking.
Category: Convention
This brainstorming episode has been interrupted by…reality
I have it all planned out. In the mornings, I will write. Or embroider. Or remake my Dark Phoenix corset for Tucson Comic Con so it fits. Or do some such creative endeavor. I mean, I’m up early enough usually, and my husband is either sleeping or working. Lots of “free” time to create.
Except…We have that huge SCAdian housewarming party this weekend. And my husband’s Peer is staying in the craft room. And the craft room looks like a crafting tornado hit it. FML.
I hate cleaning before I have to work, though. I have limited time in the mornings because I have to pay attention to what time it is so I can get my shower in and get dressed and whatnot. When I’m hip-deep in fabric, it’s harder to keep track. I either waste time constantly watching the clock, or I set an alarm which goes off mid-project. I have the afternoon off today, so theoretically I can get work done then, but then the problem of needing to get other projects done comes in. I have things like blood work to get. And a podiatrist appointment. And SCA scribal stuff to do.
There are shelves to store the fabric in so I have easier access and can see at more or less a glance what I have–but I have to sort and fold all the fabric and put said fabric on the shelves. There are two 6’x3′ tables that are CHOCK FULL of supplies and sewing machines and what have you on top of them that I need to clear off for potluck foodstuffs that will be brought by our guests.
*Sigh* I suppose Book 2 and the embroidery projects I have will have to hold off for a bit. At least a couple of days, until I can get the craft room presentable. Then it’ll have to wait for me to set everything up in its proper place. Then…I write? I hope.
Making a list and checking it eleventy times
Well, I did it–I applied for a table at Tucson Comic Con…and I was approved!
I talked it out with my husband, and since the con is three days while Coronation is only one, he’s going to drop me off at TCC the day of Coronation, drive up to see his friend step down and get his Duchy, then drive back to Tucson to sit with me at my table. I’ve already annoyed all my local friends to try to get them to at least stop by the table (if not purchase a book or two while they’re there 😉 ), but my mind is racing with stuff I have to get done beforehand.
- I’ve gotta get a tablecloth. That will make it look nicer. The TCC website said there would be a table provided, but no mention of tablecloth was made.
- Square reader. Need one. Easy enough to obtain, but I don’t want to forget to obtain it.
- Cash box/pouch? Hmm….
- Better start plans to stock up on books to sell/sign at the con.
- I need to finish fixing my Dark Phoenix steampunk corset. I made it too large when I initially sewed it, and even though I’ve regained some weight I’ll still need to take it back in.
- Devise and sew a sci-fi-ish cosplay to wear one day? Hmm…. I do have a pattern for a body suit…I’d have to get my serger up and running again and remember how to use it though…And make a corset to go over said bodysuit because omg fatness lol
- If I do do a new cosplay, a fun new wig to go with it 😉
- Once I find out what promo materials I’ll have from the publisher, I need to make another list of display items to get, like some kind of stands to prop up books, signage, etc.
- Tubs to carry stuff to and from the table in each day.
I’m sure there’s more I haven’t thought of, but that’s enough for now. I am beyond excited to have this opportunity. It’s fun to think that I’m getting back into cons and stuff, but it’s also going to be work. I won’t be able to leave the table much because I’ll have to be there so people can actually meet the author and get autographs if they want. So it’s not all fun and games. I’ll have moments of severe social anxiety that I’ll have to suck up and swallow down, because I can’t go freaking out over all the people when I paid money to be up in the thick of it (or back in a corner somewhere, which is more likely where I’ll be put. Lol)
There’s also a little thing called a housewarming party that I need to finish straightening the craft room for…I have to clear off both tables so we’ll have a place for people to sit and eat, and I have to get some semblance of organization done so my husband’s Peer has a place to crash for the night.
Oh, and I have to go see the podiatrist yet again because my left foot is either broken or has a neuroma or some crazy shit like that. There’s that, too.
Pros and cons of cons
So I have a decision to make…and it’s kind of a tough one.
There’s this convention, see. Tucson Comic Con. I wrote a sci-fi novel. Sci-fi and comic cons go together like peas and carrots. Or something. Point is, it would be a great opportunity to promote myself as an Arizona author with a new publication. The fee for a table isn’t unreasonable, and I’d have time to buy up a small stockpile of books to sign/sell at the con.
Buuuuuuuut…..The same weekend is also Coronation for the next King and Queen of our SCA Kingdom-slash-stepping down of my husband’s friend from current King to Duke.
Fuck. My. Life.
I want to be there to support my husband’s friend and my chosen family, but I also want to be able to be visibly there to promote my book at a medium-sized convention.
What do I do?
My husband was initially on-board with the con thing, but when he found out it was the same weekend as Coronation it was all nope, can’t do it. But I want to. I need to talk to him, I guess. I just feel like a jerk for wanting to.
We don’t have to do everything together. We can split the weekend–but it would be kind of a bummer not to have him there.
I’ll think it over. Who knows? I might not even get a booth. It might end up being a moot point.
But it would be freakin’ awesome to be able to do the con…..
*Sigh*
I’ll talk with my husband. See what his thoughts are. I know he won’t be happy, but maybe we can compromise.
Gone to bed–time to start the day
It’s bedtime for ABNORMAL. I’ve officially emailed the final revisions to RhetAskew.
Soon come the marketing materials and the footwork to get ABNORMAL out in the public eye. I have a lot of work ahead of me; I’m not trying to fool myself into thinking things are done. Even if I didn’t have Book 2 and the others to write, I’ve got to put in as much work as possible on the marketing.
Ah, marketing. The thing I spent my first year of college majoring in. Twenty years ago. If I recall, the only actual marketing course I managed to take before I switched majors was Business Statistics. So yeah. I’m flying blind here.
There’s one small local bookstore that I’ve heard of. A couple bigger ones in Tucson and probably a bunch in Phoenix. And I wouldn’t rule out traveling out-of-state for conventions or book signings. That’s not enough, though. I’ve got to blow up Twitter and Instagram and Facebook and All The Things to get word out. But it’s not like I don’t have resources. I can look up blogs on book marketing, ask my publishers for advice, ask other authors who’ve had success in their own marketing.
Until my marketing package arrives though, I guess I’m going to start back on Book 2.
Well, after today’s barbecue.
Welcome to home ownership.
Crunch of a different kind
Anyone who has read this blog for a decent amount of time may be familiar with my recurrent Con Crunch–the time when a convention nears and you’re scrambling to finish your cosplays in time. One could almost say I have chronic Con Crunch, or Triple C. No matter how much I try to plan, I never seem to be able to get my costumes done without a last-minute scramble.
The SCA has proven to be no different. I seem to always be in that Crunchtime zone where I worry that I won’t finish the garment(s) before the event I’m making them for. Prime example: the Italian Renaissance-themed Yule event that’s in less than two weeks. I have my camica done, my outer dress mostly done (still need to hem it and adjust a couple things due to my recent weight loss), and my husband’s pants mostly done. I still need to make his shirt and doublet, though, and–if there’s time–an underskirt for the dress. Since I made mockups of the shirt and doublet, I know it won’t take too terrible long to get them done once I have a chance to just focus, but I have one little problem…
I think my right foot has somehow gotten re-injured. Like, it’s hurting bad enough I worry that it might have become re-broken. Seriously, the only thing that helps for any length of time is to wear the stupid fracture boot that I got from the podiatrist this past February when I first broke it. Here’s a photo of the x-ray for reference:
Yeah, that circled part is the nice little break with the nice little chunk of bone was taken off. According to the podiatrist it was pretty much healed after a few weeks in the boot, and he told me I didn’t really have any restrictions. Cool beans, right?
Well, that “crushing” fracture (as the doctor diagnosed it; to this day I still have no clue how it happened) has been increasingly painful since I decided to wear my medieval period shoes for a couple of days at a recent event. Now, I’ve got gel insoles in them, but they’re not memory foam like my beloved Sketchers–which I ended up changing into for the remainder of the event after the medieval shoes started making my right foot hurt. Or at least that’s what I thought was the cause…now I’m not so sure.
Did I take a wonky step in those shoes and not notice? Knowing me it’s entirely possible, but it’s also possible that there’s something else going on. Something less sucky, perhaps? Regardless, I won’t know until I see the podiatrist again in a couple of weeks. Lucky me didn’t have enough openings at work to be able to get in any sooner. So it’s been over three weeks of moderate to severe pain in my right foot, with another two to go.
Oh, yeah, and I also have trouble controlling the sewing machine pedal with my left foot. So there’s that adding to the already stressful #currentmiddleages crunch. Yeah, no, let’s not use that term again. The alliteration is all well and good, but it feels a bit forced. Costume Crunch? That could work. The garb is essentially medieval costumes, after all.
Fingers crossed that there’s not a bone crunch mixed in with this Costume Crunch. I won’t find out until after the Yule event, so I have to suffer for a little longer.
Speaking of crunches, I suppose I should get cracking on the shirt and/or doublet.
Except this boot is keeping the pain at bay.
Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
Godly aspirations
Well, I have my newest cosplay obsession. I went to see Thor: Ragnarok last night and now I’ve decided I have to do a Hela cosplay.
Observe:
Weight issues aside, it’s not too far of a stretch. I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I look similar to Cate Blanchett, and let’s face it, Hela is a badass. (Ok, so I might have dozed a bit during the part where Thor kicked her ass… what can I say? It was past my bedtime.)
It should be an interesting challenge. I’ll have to make a bodysuit, figure out the shoulder cutouts, and figure out all the piping and stuff.
Oh wait. I have two Italian Renaissance outfits to make before Yule. And a synopsis to polish. And revisions out the wazoo. And Christmas presents to make. And work.
Not to mention that we’re not really going to as many conventions lately. Not since this year’s Phoenix Comicontroversy. Still…it shall happen.
Some day.
Leaps and bounds
The cosplay is coming along swimmingly, at least as far as props and accessories go. I have the grey boots I bought painted with a layer of black (I’ll probably add at least one more layer), then I got the headband for the Magik cosplay made.
I did it myself, with a little instruction from a friend. The sword is also well underway, with just a little more to go. It’s going to take some geometry and stuff…you know, the stuff you learned in school that you thought you’d never need? Yeah, all that. Maybe if they taught kids these days that it can be used for cosplay, they’d be more interested in math. Forget Common Core–teach Cosplay Core.
My husband’s Shatterstar sword prop is done (finished that last week)… 
…so now I can finish the sleeves on his costume. After I make my pleather shrug, that is. And the Spandex stuff. Have to do those pieces first, because that’s not stuff I can do by hand as we travel to Dragon Con.
Well, back to it. Can’t take too long of a break or I’ll break my momentum.
Breathing room
Okay, so I finished the corset as much as I can before the boning arrives in the mail. There’s still a lot to do on it, but just getting that much done makes me feel so much better. I’m still working on a mockup of the shrug because I have sausage arms & broad shoulders, so the last thing I want to do is go straight by the pattern only to discover that oops! it doesn’t fit and I’ve wasted a shitton of pleather. So yeah, mockup. Cheap fabric that I accidentally bought a crapton of a while back because my husband & I kindamaybesortareally jacked up the math on how much we would need. Which actually worked out in our favor, because I’ve used that fabric for tons of mockups and it ended up being the perfect color for my Jedi TARDIS cosplay. Still haven’t gotten the size of the back/front of the jacket right (mostly need to make the back/shoulders wider & the sleeve holes too), but I think I have the sleeves worked out. I think.
After the shrug, which really shouldn’t be too bad once I get the sizing worked out, I just have the Spandex stuff to sew. That’s going to be the real challenge, but I’m trying to psych myself up and tell myself I can do it.
My husband keeps “reminding” me of how much work is left to do, which he really doesn’t need to do because OMFG IT’S LESS THAN A MONTH UNTIL DRAGON CON!!! I need to just tell him that the added pressure isn’t helping me at all. I need to be able to breathe and not panic. Panic will not help me.
Just a few more things to sew. Just a few. I have to keep telling myself that. It’s a lot of cutting and pinning and whatnot still, but if I think about all of the steps it’s going to make my con anxiety worse.
There are a couple of things that my husband wants “fixed” on his cosplays from Phoenix Comicon, but those are going to kind of be “if I have time for it before Dragon Con” kinda things. It’s little adjustments/alterations that, in my opinion, can wait. Yeah, it won’t be 100% perfectly the way he wants them, but at least one of them worked well enough for Phoenix Comicon so he can just deal for Dragon Con as far as I’m concerned. Sorry, babe, but I have to focus on the new stuff and try not to add to the pressure. I’ll fix the one part that made him super uncomfortable, though. I’m not going to make him suffer for a whole day of Dragon Con just because I’m trying to stave off the con panic.
He has been a great help, though. He painted my gloves for me last night (they were a dark grey instead of the black that they need to be) and he’s been helping where he can with props and what little fabric-type stuff he can do. I need to have him sew on the buttons for his Shatterstar pants. I haven’t figured out the button foot on my sewing machine, & he figured it out for the Gaara pants, which is the same pattern.
I also need to organize the fuck outta my sewing room. My fabric/scrap stash has grown exponentially since purchasing the fabric we needed for these new cosplays, so I have piles of fabric everywhere. I also kinda have pattern pieces scattered about because I keep forgetting to fold up the pieces I’ve finished with and put them away. My craft room is a total mess. Fabric everywhere. Everywhere. I barely have room on my cutting table to cut out the pieces for the mockup, & they’re fairly small pieces.
In addition, I have my new boots that I need to do some modifying to, mostly stripping the coating off the synthetic leather and then painting them black (the only ones I could get in my size were dark grey instead of black, so yeah, more changes to make). Maybe I could get my husband to do that part, too? He did pretty well painting the gloves, so the boots theoretically shouldn’t be much different. It would really help me out and take one thing off my long, long list.
Less than one month. The Crunch is squeezing ever tighter, and I am doing my best to remain calm about it.
A matter of time…
So I think I got my motivation for cosplay back…the problem is, today I just don’t have much time to work on it.
Today’s a long, early day at work, which means I don’t have the time to sew that I’d like to have. On the plus side, though, I’m back to wanting to sew.
I have an interview with an actress after work today, so I probably won’t get any sewing done then, but hopefully tomorrow morning I can get a little bit done. Now that I figured out the secret to getting the pleather to move through the sewing machine easier, it shouldn’t be too bad to get the rest of it done. Next after the corset is the shrug, which should be easy enough once I get the proportions figured out. Stupid fat arms lol I have to modify the pattern a bit to get my upper arms to fit it. Gonna be a mock-up for sure.
Then on to the really scary part: Spandex! I saved that for last because I knew A- I have never worked with it before (& it’s a bit terrifying to even think about) & B- I know that the two things I have to make with the Spandex can be purchased online easily enough, if it comes down to that. We’ll see. I don’t want to be relying on Amazon Prime to get our last costume pieces here on time, but if that’s what it comes down to then that’s what we’ll do. I can always use the Spandex later, either to improve on what we bought or to make something new.
Life is going to get interesting in the coming months & even the next couple of years, but I think I can handle it. Just have to get to/through Dragon Con and then I’ll have some breathing room. Maybe even time for writing? Who knows.
Almost time to get ready for work!