February 2009 Archives

Good news. After five hours in surgery, my dad now has a McGyver-like heart with four veins bypassing his clogged arteries. He's in ICU right now, but it looks like he will be okay. Phew! I'm relieved and very sleepy right now.

Night, night.

Thanks for your comment on my blog. I'm glad you've been following the saga of True Story. If you want to see the cover, please go to my fiction page and click on the Facebook link. That will get you to the True Story fan page. You'll be able to see the final cover there as well as a few of the illustrations from the book.

Greenwoods as well as all the other Edmonton bookstores should have the book within a month or so. It takes a while for the books to be shipped from the distributor.

If you happen to be a teacher and are attending GETCA, Greenwoods has a booth, and they will be selling True Story. Hope you enjoy the book!

Marty

More like what dragged in the cat book. The courier dropped off the first box of True Story this morning just before I had to take my mom to the hospital. What a bright spot in an otherwise bleak week. The book looks fantastic. I sold 50 to Greenwoods books so they can sell them at tomorrow's teachers' convention. I'm not in the process of trying to figure out how to sell them all. Anyone interested in buying a book?

Anyway, I'm thrilled to see the book together and I'm eternally grateful to my illustrator, Lorna Bennett, the graphic design team at Critical Fusion, the speedy computer gods at Zenocopy and the awesome staff at Friesens for pulling together the book.

Another sleepless night. I suspect I'll have many more between now and my dad's surgery. Yesterday, I was able to hold it together for a meeting about an Edmonton Public Library summer project using tangrams and codes. For some reason, I became obsessed with the project and getting all the details right. I think it was one of the few times in the last couple of days that I didn't have to think about cardiologists and heart attacks I had to pull together tangram codes for the EPL designer to mass produce. I think the designer was a bit freaked out in the meeting about having to sort out tangrams. He relaxed when he saw that I had done the tough part. All he has to do is make them pretty, which is a job in itself, but not as hard as having to do both.

Now I'm getting ready for my presentations at the teachers convention and I have to prepare for a couple of other events. I'm still banging away at the third novel in the Sasquatch series. And I'm still pretty much a zombie. One day at time? Forget that. One step at a time.

As I try to reorganize my life to accommodate the major change in my dad's life, I'm burning the candle at both ends to clear out writing projects and prep for speaking engagements that may or may not be cancelled based on what happens over the next couple of weeks.

I'm hacking away at the third book in the Sasquatch series; about five pages a day, but my focus is just not there. I'm reminded of my last desktop computer just before it died. I had loaded so many programs and files on to it, that it took forever to boot up and an eternity to open files. That's how my brain feels right about now. I can see the computer screen. I can think of the words, but I can barely eke them out.

I'm barely sleeping thanks to all the things that I have to sort out, and my mom is staying with me for the next two weeks so she can be closer to the hospital. The new living arrangement is an added stress, and I find my patience has worn onion-skin thin.

I'm fighting hard to create some semblance of routine in my life that involves exercise, writing and hospital time. This week is light on hospital stuff. After the surgery is when the real work and recovery begins. The surgery is scheduled for Friday, and we're all hoping for the best. The weird thing is that almost everyone I tell has known someone who has had this procedure. On the one hand, it is comforting to know this is a common surgery, but on the other hand, it's disconcerting to know so many people have heart problems.

I was trying to be healthy before all this, but now I'm really taking my health seriously.

I just learned today that my father needs a triple bypass. Not the greatest news to start a day. I spent all morning and afternoon in the hospital trying to sort out what to do. Thanks to Alberta's decimated healthcare system, there's a glut of patients and a shortage of healthcare professionals. End result: a lot of waiting. Sure, I can wait to get a muffin at a coffee shop. I can handle standing in line to see a movie. But having to wait to find out if my dad can get life-saving surgery? Not acceptable.

I'm sure the oily politicians in this province will either sidestep the issue with cries of "who really pays for this," or they'll simply blame people for getting sick. To be honest, I'm tired, stressed and angry. Maybe I'll be reasonable tomorrow. But tonight, I've earned the right to say we deserve better in this province.

My dad's life will change immensly over the next few months, and I'll have to make adjusts for that change. Life might have body-slammed me, but I'm not going to let it get the three count.

I just got off the phone with Lorna about the picture book. There are no problems. Everything worked out even better than we expected. The one concern she had about a pink line on one page was taken care of by the press operator who scraped it off the press drum. The next step is to do the press run, but I'm thrilled to know that the pages look good and are all in the right order.

Lorna's coming back tomorrow with press sheets for me to look at, but she signed off on everything. Phew!!! I'm so relieved.

One thing that I didn't know about printing was that the printer builds in overages for potential wastage (ie. mistakes on trims and folds, etc.). I'll be getting anywhere from 3 to 5% more copies of the book. I'll have to pay for the extras, but at a reduced rate.

Now I can sleep!!!!

More nightmares, less sleep... but my wait is finally over.

My illustrator (Lorna) is at Friesens. She called this morning to say that she looked at the cover and its great. The printer has rolled off one side of the sheet (half the book) and the colours look good. She has to wait for them to dry to get a better look. And then the other side of the sheet will be printed so Lorna can check the trim marks to make sure the cuts will be exact and everything will match up.

Sigh. What a huge relief. I'm thrilled to know that the first step has been a successful one. Just a few more to go and then I can relax.

I barely slept last night thanks to constant nightmares about my picture book. The press check is tomorrow, and I'm assured that everything will go well now that we've seen the proofs, but there's a part of me that keeps thinking the pages will be out of order or upside down. I had a horrible nightmare that my illustrator, who is going to the press check, suddenly hated everything and trashed the book on the press, leaving me with a whole lot of nothing to show for a major financial investment.

To be honest, this is the first time I've laid out this kind of money for a project. When I produced plays, I invested some money but not to this scale. I won't give numbers, but I'm on the hook enough that if this project fails, I'll be working at a Tim Hortons for a year.

The printer (Friesens) have a great customer service representative who has obviously had to hold hands of other self-publishers as they fretted through the process, but it still doesn't make the waiting any easier. I suspect I won't be sleeping tonight either. I'll relax when I get the call from my illustrator that everything looks good and the pages are in the right order.

I'm positively sick today. I don't know if I'll be able to concentrate, but I'll do my best to think about anything other than the picture book.

I just downloaded the final proofs from the printer this morning. I went through the files and didn't catch any mistakes in the text. I hope there aren't any more typos. About four people went through the manuscript for that very reason.

I think there's enough bleed that we don't have to worry about trimming pages and ending up with white space, but I've asked my illustrator and graphic designer just to do one last check. I'll most likely sign off on the proofs this weekend and then the printer will prepare the plates on Tuesday. My illustrator visits the plant on Wednesday for the press check. And after that, it's just a matter of keeping my fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong on the printing end of things.

I had a blast putting the book together. I learned a lot, which is always a good reason to try something new. Would I do it again? Ask me in six months when I know if I've sold enough to make back my investment. Self-publishing isn't for the faint of heart.

I don't know where I found my second wind, but I spent pretty much the entire day revising Neither Hide Nor Hair. My manuscript now clocks in at 118 pages, and feels much more like a y/a novel. But am I finished? No way. I still have one more pass. I have to clean up the characters, the dialogue and the description. I was taken off guard by how well the last third of the novel hung together. Maybe it was because so much of it was action that I didn't have to worry about the mechanics.

The only concern I have right now is the last ten pages. I need to create a sense of resolution for the novel, but keep the cliffhanger so people want to go to novel number 3 (which I start writing on Monday or Tuesday... depending on whether or not I want a long weekend).

Also, I threw something in at the last minute which could be have a bigger impact on the story that I'm letting on in the final third. After I've had some time away from the novel, I'll revisit my idea and see if it adds to the story or detracts from it. Right now, I think it adds, but I won't know until I get some perspective.

Anyway, I can now shut down the novel for the weekend. Phew! Just in time, too. I have a swack of speaking gigs that I have to prep for. I'm hoping to do a lot of the prep over the weekend so that I clear some time and brain power for next week's sprint to finish a first draft of book three.

Tough slogging again today, but I was able to finish 20 pages of revisions on Neither Hide Nor Hair. The timer game isn't working so well as I realize that I can just reset the time when I feel like I need more time. I forced myself to keep writing after the timer went off and I only now reached a point where I can shut down for the day. My brain hurts, but at least I won't feel guilty if I don't touch another page on the book.

I have to figure out a new motivation trick this week so that I can finish the revisions to this book and write the first draft of the third novel. Maybe I'll disable my internet for two weeks. Ack! That's like saying I'll stop eating Pringles.

I've shoved all my work for today to one side so that I can unwrap my early Christmas present. The colour proofs of True Story just arrived this morning. I'm so excited to see the pages. I'm running out to show my illustrator the pages so we can go over them together and catch and errors. Once this is done, we go to print!!! Can you tell I'm a little excited?

It's a very strange feeling to see great reviews of The Forbidden Phoenix like the one in Now Magazine when I know that the show that's been reviewed no longer exists. Thanks to some incredibly bad luck, the actress playing Phoenix was hurt on opening. Her injury is too bad to continue in the physical role. Thanks to some quick thinking and generosity from the rest of the cast, the actress is going to switch her role with the actress playing Empress Dowager, who sits on a cart for the entire show.

Tomorrow, the cast will rehearse the two switched roles after they perform the original show (with our Phoenix on crutches). The cast will continue doing double duty, performing the show with the original cast while rehearsing the new roles. By Sunday, we'll have the official switch. I can't even begin to imagine how the cast is keeping everything straight, but I'm so proud of all of them for stepping up to the plate.

The morning started well. I woke early and hit the gym for a little workout. Then I came home and started working on the revisions to Neither Hide Nor Hair. But before the timer went off, I made the silly mistake of checking my email. The wheels fell off shortly after that.

The email that knocked me off my stride was about the picture book. I was hoping to see the proofs today, but they won't arrive until tomorrow. Plus, the press check date has been sset, and I have to arrange to fly my illustrator to Winnipeg for that. The problem is timing. I have to sort out schedules and flights. I could wait until the end of the day to do that, but I'm just so excited to get this book off the ground that I don't want to wait.

I'm back at the computer and writing now. Another 6 pages to go and I will have met my daily goal. So what am I doing blogging? Or is this blogging any more? I think I'm less a blogger and more a twitterer... or maybe I'm just a twit. Back to work!

I don't know if it's the news of the weekend or a chance in the weather, but trying to work on the Sasquatch novel was slow going. I managed to revised 15 pages, but it took a lot longer than I expected. The timer isn't working as well today. I was hoping to be much faster.

Oh well, I did get my minimum pages revised, and I found time to revise and send the Legacy article. Tomorrow, I really have to get cracking on the revisions of Neither Hide Nor Hair, because I'm expecting the proofs from True Story, and I'll lose the afternoon to that project. The whole day is going to be pretty hectic.

I don't even know where to begin. If you've been following the sage of The Forbidden Phoenix, you know about the injury to one of the actors. I found out yesterday that the theatre cancelled the performance because not only was our actress still hobbled, but our percussionist had kidney stones. It was a little too much to ask the audience to forgive an actor on crutches with no sound score for the fights. Instead of the performance, the cast and crew rehearsed the new Phoenix into her scenes. The new Phoenix is the old Empress and the old Phoenix will become the new Empress. Make sense, yet?

Anyway, it's going to be a hard week with the actors performing school matinees with the Phoenix on crutches, while the actors playing Empress and Phoenix learn the lines for the other parts. On Wednesday, I think they'll rehearse the new roles and by next week, the two will officially switch their roles.

The percussionist is feeling better and should be able to do the run, but the theatre has another percussionist shadowing in case the wheels fall off the bus this week.

I've never had this happen on any of my shows, and I'm scratching my head about which gypsy I may have upset to receive this curse. I'm sending positive thoughts to my cast as they rebuild the show.

Weird spurt of creativity. I got up this morning thinking I'd just take it easy, but instead I plopped down at my computer and bashed out a working draft of my article for Legacy Magazine. I think I have something I can play with. I'll go over the draft tonight and revise and polish the article tomorrow so it's off my plate.

I'm surprised I felt the burst of creativity. I'm not sure what brought it on. I didn see Bottle Rocket on Friday and Push on Saturday. Maybe the simple fact that I was feeding my brain other stories was enough to spur me to write my own stories.

In fact, I remember how I was reading three novels at the same time that I was working on the first draft of Neither Hide Nor Hair. Hmmm. I used to not read for leisure when I was writing for fear that I'd get intimidated by another writer's brilliance and end up shutting down. Looks like I'm going to have to change my approach.

I love and hate theatre for the same reason: it's live. The fact that anything can happen on stage on any given night is a thrill, because the actors and crew have to always be on their toes. Unfortunately, live performance also means if something goes wrong, there are consequences.

On opening, our actress playing Phoenix ended up hurting her ankle so seriously that she couldn't stand without the help of crutches. The role calls for some pretty athletic moves, and we have no understudy.

Yesterday, the theatre opted to go on with the show, but adjusted the blocking so that our actress wouldn't further injure herself. To her credit, she went on with the show, even though she was hobbled and using crutches for part of the performance. Of course, the audience was informed of the injury and were forgiving.

We're waiting to hear from the doctor about whether or not our actress can still be in the show. While it's clear she can't play Phoenix any longer, we have to figure out how to replace her. Right now, the most viable solution is to switch her with the actress playing Empress because that character sits on a cart for the entire show and doesn't have to walk. The two actresses are also about the same size, so there won't be major costume alterations. But it will take a few rehearsals for her to get the blocking, lines and songs down.

If the doctor says our Phoenix actress is completely out, then we're going to move a chorus member into the role of the Phoenix and hire someone to replace the chorus member. That means two people will have to learn new roles, which is not ideal considering the show is already up and running.

We're all in limbo until the doctor gives the word, which will probably be later today. I was hoping the drama would be on stage, rather than off stage for this show, but it looks like it's going to be a wild ride for the next couple of weeks.

I have to be honest. When I heard the actress playing the Phoenix went on with the show yesterday, I was pretty darned proud. Someone who has the courage to fight through an injury to put on a show earns huge points in my book. I've seen so many examples where today's workers are willing to quit or skip work for the most trivial of reasons that I've started to become cynical about the future of society. When I heard that our actress went on even with a major injury, it gave me hope that tomorrow is in good hands if there are more people like her.

I tried to work for an hour, but my mind and heart are just not into the book right now. The positive review of the play and the fact that the picture book is queued up for printing is putting me in a playful frame of mind. Sometimes, I have to stop and celebrate the successes. If I don't enjoy the rewards, then what motivates me to do all the work.

So, executive decision. I'm shutting down for the weekend. There are some work emails to clear out, but I can deal with them on Monday, and I can get a fresh start on the revisions of Neither Hide Nor Hair after the weekend. More importantly, I can line myself up to start the third novel in the series. I might take some time over the weekend to brainstorm the plot for the third novel. I have a good idea that the story will pit Barnabas against the Wendigo and Dogger Dogwood, but I'm not sure the sequence yet. Weird that even when I shut down, I'm still writing. Does that make me a professional writer or just an obsessive person?

While I can't be in Toronto to enjoy the performances of The Forbidden Phoenix, I can live vicariously through the show reports from the stage manager and reviews like the one in the Toronto Star.

Yay! Now, I can move on and start focussing more seriously on the Sasquatch novels. If The Forbidden Phoenix is my last play, I'm glad I went out with a bang.

What happened to my day? I had a meeting about doing summer programs at the Edmonton Public Library and then came home to work but in the blink of an eye, my day was done. I suspect it might have something to do with the fact that the picture book is off to the printers and The Forbidden Phoenix is opening today. I think my brain is just not in work mode. I'll try again tomorrow. I have to get back to the Sasquatch novels. Let's see how well I work on a Friday. You never know. I might be motivated, or I might be sneaking off to a movie matinee.

Yes! The graphic designer just finished uploading the files to the printer today. We were delayed when we all suddenly realized that the book cover needed to have a spine. The designer scrambled to pull it together and I ran in to do a final proof. Good thing I did. I caught a missing comma and the bar code was too far to the edge. So many details, so few eyes.

Anyway, I'll know by the end of the week if the files are clean (the printer can use them without any glitches). Then the printing process begins with a prep of the colour proofs. I'll get to see them and sign off of them. Then I send my illustrator to Winnipeg for the press check. She'll make sure the colours in the book are right.

Then I sit on the edge of my seat and count the days until the book is printed and delivered. The great news is that I just came back from a meeting with the fine folks at the Edmonton Human Society. They've agreed to host and promote the book launch. We're looking at a Saturday in the last two weeks of May. I'll post more details as I get them.

I just had a report from one of my actors and my stage manager for The Forbidden Phoenix. Yesterday, they did two school matinees, and the kids at one performance were booing and hissing at the curtain call for Empress and Horne, while cheering for everyone else. Hilarious. I loved that the kids were so into the story and characters that they felt like they needed to voice their disapproval of the villains.

From all accounts, the cast is doing well with the remount. I hope the Toronto audiences like the show. I'm sad not to be able to see the Toronto run, but such is life.

I'm going to be seeing pink lines across all my dreams from now on. My illustrator was going through the jpgs of the illustrations to tweak some colours, when she noticed that several of the images had pink lines. On screen, they were barely noticeable, but they would definitely jump out in the printing process.

We had to work with the graphic designer to root out and wipe out all the pink lines. Thankfully, Photoshop had a tool called Cloning, which could take colour swatches from other parts of the illustration to mask the pink lines. Phew! I'm so glad that my illustrator caught the lines, and I'm thrilled that my graphic designer was able to fix the problem.

I've signed off on the images. Now the graphic designer has to prep the files to be sent to the printer. The next step is to test the files and print out the colour proof pages. I'll get together with my illustrator to review the pages, and then it's off to press. I'm sending my illustrator to the printing company in Manitoba to do a final press check so that we know that everything is what we want it to be.

Long days, but we're almost there.

My agent just forwarded me a call for submissions from Orca. They're looking for sports-themed proposals aimed at reluctant readers. No football, basketball or hockey. I'm debating whether I should write a novel using some kind of sport as the arena/backdrop for the story. The only way this would be interesting to me is if I can focus on story and character rather than the minutia of the sport. If I were reading these books, the last thing I'd want is a play by play of some sport that makes me want to watch the sport highlights.

Of course, I'm in the middle of revising Neither Hide Nor Hair and I'm about to start working on the third novel in the Barnabas series, so naturally the opportunity to procastinate always looks enticing.

Breathe, just breathe. We are so close to finishing True Story. My designer just sent me some proofs. Finally, I see all the pages in technicolor! Wow. I'm so impressed with what my illustrator delivered.

We're still in the tweaking phase. I caught a few typos and so did my lucky charm of a proofreader. My illustrator is going in tomorrow to tweak some colours, and I'm going in either tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday morning to sign off on the project.

I can't believe how much work actually goes into a 32-page picture book. It's a wonder that publishers actually go through the effort. I mean I'm hoping to make my investment back on this project, but I doubt I'll be able to retire on my revenue.

Ah well, it's a good reminder that artists do this stuff for the love of it and not the money.

Finally had a chance to look at A Close Shave to address some notes from my agent. She had some concerns about whether or not a Sasquatch looks like a human or not. In my world, the Sasquatches are going to be hairy humans with big feet. I might be wrong about it, but I like the idea that Sasquatches are just people under all that hair. In a way, I feel like I'm just like everyone else under my skin, but everyone seems to look at the colour of my skin first and who I am underneath second. I'll see how far I can get with this notion. Now on to the rest of the series.