I wrote a book and other updates

I suppose since this is my blog and since finishing a book is a big deal, that maybe I should, you know, mention it on here. I *did* mention what I was doing after finishing–i.e. wandering aimlessly and having no purpose in life–but I haven’t talked *about* the book. Did I even mention I was writing one? I don’t even remember–the last couple months are a huge blur. But, I mean, a few years down the road, you might be holding said book in your hands and going, “Wow–I want to know more about how this book was made. I want to read all her blog posts where she talked about the agony of writing it and the brilliant moments where everything came together and just… how and why and when.” (I have these thoughts when I read books. Don’t judge.) And you will look and… there won’t be any. >:/

I put that angry face there, but really of course it’s my fault if there aren’t any blog posts. And really I don’t want to talk about the book. Why? I spent three months on it. Three months might not sound like a lot of time, but this is, you know, all day every day for three months. I’m clocking in at least 700 hours on this, and that’s not anything to enter into lightly. It’s my tenth finished book (there are way more than ten unfinished ones *ahem*), and I love it very much.

And it’s also probably the greatest undertaking I’ve ever undertaken, so thinking about it also makes me all kinds of nervous. (It feels kind of good to admit that. *phew*) You know I majored in Latin, yes? Scisne me Latine dicere? Sic? Well, good. So, um, I wrote a historical. (Yes, I know, it’s “an” historical, but whatever. I already told you I majored in Latin–how stuffy do you want me to sound?) And it’s set in ancient Rome, which I have studied a lot. Sort of. I had to study it a lot more to write the book, and I had to do Research, with a capital R. Lots and lots of Research. I am not a research person, but this book was special and important and I had to, so I did. (And for the record, I enjoyed it and learned lots of cool things.) I also don’t write historicals, or paranormals, or books with real people in them. And I especially don’t write them in first person.

But, um, I did. I wrote a paranormal historical set in ancient Rome (84 B.C., towards the end of the Republic) involving some of my heroes fighting ghosts, natch, and my Latin teacher will probably barf when she reads it and that’s something I’ll just have to live with. Somehow. It’s also probably the best idea I’ve ever had and right now it’s called DEAD ROMANS and I am a-freaking-mazed that I wrote it and the dialog is pretty snappy and the characters are fun if I do say so myself and it’s got real events interwoven with completely made up–but based on what *could* have happened–paranormal stuff. And even if I can point to those 3 months/700 hours and say “That’s when I wrote it,” really it represents a cumulation of years of my life. Years of study and reading and thought and love and mixing ancient ideas and ideals with modern ones and mashing it all up into a fine stock for awesome sauce.

So, you know, it’s BIG. And while I love it, I don’t know yet if it’s good or not, and neither option would make it less scary, so it kind of doesn’t matter. I’m at the point where there is too much room to think about maybes and what ifs and OMG I WROTE THAT?!? So my coping method is to just not think about it at all. Which is easier said than done, and also very weird. I mean, I spend 3 months on something, and one day I’m working on it and it’s pretty much my life, and then the next day I’m not working on it anymore and I’m not thinking about it and it’s just over.

But like I said, that’s how I’m coping, so it’s all right. I’m taking some relaxation time and letting new ideas drift in while I wait to hear what my agent thinks of it.

***

And now for the other updates, which don’t seem nearly as important after all that. But they would seem even less important if I gave them their own post, so here they are.

I got Disney contracts today! W00T! They came through the e-mails and I had to print them out and get them notarized. It was all very official and the guy at the bank had to stamp a giant seal on them. They are now sitting in a plain manilla envelope (one I bought a million years ago for sending out query letters, back before I realized folding them wasn’t grounds for rejection and before e-queries were all the rage). On my nightstand on top of a pile of library books and research books for latest novel (see above), there is a very plain envelope that you would never think had anything important in it, but it has something very much the opposite of not important inside. It has, like, these important papers for this thing I never thought would happen to me. Crazy, yes? O__o (Yes.)

Also, I finally had an eye exam and my glasses should be coming soon. I’ve probably needed them for a long time, but I refused to give in. But the aforementioned 700 hours of computer and reading time have done me in and I can’t pretend I don’t need them anymore, because I get eye strain something fierce and it’s just not worth it. I mean, what am I trying to prove? That I can have headaches every day? -__- I can’t wait for the glasses to get here, and then there will definitely be pics.