tada! how awesome was that?!

An amazing thing happened on Friday—a week ahead of when I’d expected to be holding my latest book, Broken As I Am, I got a text from Michael at Essence, telling me that my book was, right at that very minute, being bound.

Waiting for my book to be published is actually the worst part of the process for me. The writing is easy and fun, even when it’s haunted by the hostile takeover of my imagination (see: dorkazoid). I don’t do well with the waiting. I doubt. I worry. I think that it’s all dumb and decide to hide. I tell myself that I’m stupid. It’s not pretty.

I may even cause a few donuts and quite a few Junior Mints™ to cower in fear.

I won’t even tell you about the Bounty bars or the trips to Starbucks for those delicious Fudge and Oat Bar things.

I’ll be right back….

I kept myself occupied with work and with admiring The Man I Love, talking and laughing and thinking that the best things of life really are at home, and wandering the farm, taking photos of the horses and all such beautiful things,  and I hang out with the teenaged menfolk around here (if you want to know how many pictures of rugby games that the mother with a good camera gets nominated to take during the season, the answer is multi-thousands). We lazed a lot, enjoyed the sunshine, watched some Swamp People.

Oh, and by the way, I also found and started the buying process for this:

Oh, that’s just me and the utterly amazing 1963 Rambler Classic Station Wagon of awesomeness and road trip wonder, prepared for great trips to and from the beach, and soon-to-be equipped with actual seatbelts whom I’ve named Bobby McGee.
(subtitled “The Romney Rambler” by the man I love) (and yes, I’m posting a bigger picture of a car than I have of my book or my family)

Anyhow… Binding a book is a really cool process (I’ve actually harassed my way into every step of production this time) and so I dropped everything and drove down to ye olde book factory to see it happening. Just days before, they had to endure me tromping through their work in my stilettos, excitedly filming and photographing everything.

Broken As I Am hot on the press!

After printing, books are stored in signatures—sections of the books that, when put together, make up the actual book itself.

Each of the signatures of the book (a set of eight or 16 pages of text) are then organized and put together on the bindery.

After all the writing and printing and binding and gluing and such is done, then comes the cover run. After that, it’s trimmed and then….

And then, lastly, it all gets trimmed and placed into boxes and TADA! A book is born.

Tada! My books, all fancified and ready to come to your house!

Probably the absolute best part of the whole deal happened on Friday morning after I got that text and had run down to Essence to gawk at my books getting dressed up.

Yesterday, I had an un-announced, un-official book launch event and seriously, it was amazingly fun. All my months of feeling sick and worrying late at night about whether or not I could (or should) do it, all the worries that the cover would end up greenish and it’d look all vampirish faded. There was just me, my books and the feeling of a job well done.

I was surrounded by people who love me, who are excited to see what my creativity has birthed, and who believe in me enough to shell out $20 early on a Sunday morning.

Want some more pictures?

They look kind of fancy, don’t they?

Here is an Instagram photos my friend Chanel took

I kinda like both my books sitting side-by-side, smiling at me!

I had a blast. I really, really did. People I haven’t talked with in ages came over to congratulate me. They were gracious and kind and excited. I felt humbled by how encouraging they were. And gracious—even when I got so flustered because a woman I truly admire (secretly, and from afar) came to buy my book, I stumbled stupidly over my words and couldn’t even remember her name!

And the coolest thing of all was the moment I looked up to see my former grade-school principal and his wife standing in front of me, so incredibly smiley and encouraging. Suddenly, I felt like a seven-year-old girl again, smiling and fresh. They stayed and chatted with me for quite a while. Their grandson, a phenomenal writer whose book will also be coming out soon (stay tuned) came along and joked with us as well.

All in all, it was a tremendous morning. The sun shone, inside and out, and my heart was glad.

There’s a long ways to go from here—I have another book set for press in the Fall. I have to market this and good old first-born In Spite of All the Damage to continue to sell. I have work to do, home to tend to, and a lot on the go.

But for right now, I am drinking some delicious coffee, my book sits beside me, my heart is full and I am proud of myself.

After all these words, I think that the handsome Spiderman expressed my feelings best yesterday:

© Juliet deWal

To everyone who came out yesterday and bought my books—thank you.

Seriously, your encouragement is manna for my soul.

And to those who want to buy any of my books (you’ll love them!) check out my books Here.

thank you again.

xoxj