Good!

I am feeling all sorts 'legit' these days, let me tell ya!

First of all...

I'm OFFICIALLY a professionally published author!!

April first saw the launch of the DAW anthology Misspelled, edited by the fabulous Julie E. Czerneda, wherein I have a short story called 'Trippingly off the Tongue' - see? Pretty Cover. Ooh. Shiny...

The anthology launched over the weekend at the Ad Astra Literary Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention and I was there and I got to - WHEE! - sign books! Bakka Phoenix bookstore has copies signed by all the contributing authors available now while supplies last! Go! Run! Buy!!

So. That made me feel pretty much like a real writer-girl.

Also - spending the weekend hanging out with all of my writer pals, old and new, like (prepare for all sorts of name-droppy clicky-linky goodness here):

Jim C. Hines - he of the hilarious Goblin Trilogy, book 3 of which also launched at Ad Astra (YAY Jim!) and who blogs about the con here (and who also has a fantastic story in Misspelled).

There was, of course, my good pal and fab writer-girl, herself, Adrienne Kress - who blogged about the con here and here (so I mostly don't have to - heh).

I met Rebecca Moesta, with whom Adrienne and Julie and I shared a panel on Writing for Young Adults. It was very cool and she is a total pro. Lots of good info.

Then there was just a whole lot of general shenanigans and silliness and hanging out with a whole host of awesome spec-fic reader- and writer-folk, including Scott Bakker, Douglas Smith, Caitlin Sweet (who really is my *Star Trek Geek Alert* binar twin), Steve Perry and his wife Pen, Karin Lowachee, Robert J. Sawyer and a whole lot of other folk I'm probably forgetting just at the moment 'cause... er... it was a long weekend and I have yet to fully recover. That's it.

Adrienne and I donned evening gowns and threatened and cajoled folks into bidding on cool stuff at the Sunburst Awards Auction.

My guy, Jonathan Llyr was there with Chris and Nadine, the crew from Angry Robot, interviewing all the cool cats for an upcoming launch of an amazing new venture - Hardcore Nerdity - that you will be hearing a lot about in the very near future (click over to Adrienne's con-rep for more on that!) and I had the pleasure of interviewing the afore-mentioned Doug Smith for them. He's real smart.

More legit writer-stuff? Er... how 'bout...

Finally getting my fully-executed contract sent back to me in the mail by my FANTASTIC agent... and realizing that it just happened to be accompanied by my advance cheque. *blink blink* (at which point, I started to wonder when people will realize that they are actually paying me to have the most fun I've ever had with just my brain - HEE!)

Having to do one last round of edits on a chapter that tied both me and my AWESOME editor in knots (at which point, I start to realize that danged if they aren't gonna make me work to have all that brain-fun - heh!)

Finally getting that chapter right (or so my AWESOME editor tells me...)

Having my AWESOME editor sprinkle tantalizing cover-design hints all around me like pixie-dust...

Finding out that my copy-edits (which I'm on an uber-tight deadline to receive-complete-return) are, in fact, in Halifax.

Realizing that I am, distinctly, NOT in Halifax.

Finally getting my copy-edits (by way of Halifax, apparently) and staring at them for a long moment thinking to myself "I have never seen so many sticky-notes in one place at the same time in all my life"...

Realizing that my copy-editor is, rather like my AWESOME editor, also awesome. And that they're both smarter than me. By - like - a mile. Which is the most reassuring thing I, as a writer, can think of. They have my back.

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is that all of these things went a long way to reminding me that this - this writing stuff? - this is what I actually do. As a writer, you spend so much time concentrating on getting there that sometimes it takes you a second or two to realize it when you are there. And that, in fact, there are more that one 'there's and that you've likely been there more than once already. It's just that it all passes in a weird blur - much like the landscape through the windshield on a cross-country road-trip. I guess this weekend I got out of the car to stretch my legs. And take a deep breath. And enjoy the scenery.

And you know what? It's real pretty.