Small victories (more wine please)

I finished Round One Edits on Captain Millicent today. I'm feeling a combination of relief and anxiety (more wine) - it's time to send my manuscript out to my beta readers. I'm encouraged by the number of people who have volunteered to be part of my school of betas - at least there's an interest, and if no one beyond these twelve people ever reads the book, I've still succeeded at putting it out there. But obviously my goals are somewhat larger (just shy of world domination) and I'd like the world to meet my characters and be interested in their stories.

I'm not aiming for life-changing or prize-winning or Oprah-stickered - I just want people to read it and like it (and want to read the next one).

I need a cover. I met an epically talented artist at the Masquerade last week and am hoping for a collaboration. Obviously I want my cover to be unique and attention-grabbing - but I also want it to be a vehicle for promoting the artist.

Hold that thought...steak just came off the grill....


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And I'm back. As I was saying, I want to promote a local artist by using her work on my cover. I'm not anticipating that Captain Millicent is going to be a blockbuster and I'm going to be famous and make millions on the film rights. My thought is, if even ten people read it and one of them is looking for an artist and they like what they see, I've succeeded at helping a fellow artist.

So, arriving at this stage means I can stop worrying about this manuscript for a little while, until the readers start sending feedback, and I can move on to Book 2. I took some photos yesterday of some beautiful abandoned silos and I feel like they belong in the next story somehow.

And spring has arrived in southern Ontario, with peepers peeping and birds of all colours and sizes calling out to one another. Tomorrow is supposed to be lovely and warm, so I'm planning to take my stand-up paddleboard out for my first paddle of the year. If it rains, I'll get started on my outline for Book 2.

This weekend is also the artisan fair Definitely Not the Mall here in Waterford, and I'm hoping to sell some of my steampunk-style gearwork jewellery and leather bags.

Never a dull moment, and thank God for that.