Knee Blow-Out at Mile 12

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So I'm trotting along on my 18-mile long run yesterday. Run, run, happy, happy. It's the first time I've done a long run outside (with some large unidentifiable yellow orb in the sky) in over a month. I'm thrilled to be back. 

Chatting with friends, I mentally make note of a light twinge behind my right kneecap. It's not pain. More like a warning that there could be pain. Big deal. It's not a run unless something hurts. 

Since most people I run with aren't training for a marathon (or they are but are considerably faster than  me), they drift off after mile 10. I keep running. At mile 12, I stop for a water break. Throwing down the water bottle, I stand back up, hit the "Start" button on my watch... and almost hit the ground as my right knee buckles beneath me. 

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What Is Sexy?

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What Makes A Man Sexy?

  • Cleaning the house top to bottom, including dishes and laundry, while your spouse is away on a trip
  • Cuddling with the cats when you think no one is looking
  • Lying and saying that the vegan dish your wife spent 3 hours cooking is "really good" 
  • Going outside to shovel snow off your walk, then walking across the street to shovel the snow off your 80-year-old neighbor's walk as well
  • Having above average body temperature so giving you hugs is like snuggling up with a blanket warm out of the dryer
  • Saying "Those look great!" instead of "How much did those cost?" when your wife comes home with new shoes
  • Never saying "Yes," when asked, "Does this make me look fat?"
  • Bringing home an abandoned kitty
  • An oddball sense of humor
  • A willingness to share your dessert
  • Did I mention cuddling the cats?

If men only knew what really turns us on...!!

"Who Moved My Mouse?" Coming Soon To A Bookstore Near You...

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Sorry to be blog-silent for so long. I got back from Ohio and had an e-mail waiting from my editor at Ten Speed Press. We're on round two of revisions. Round one was the editor going through the book and making suggestions/comments. I was surprised (and quite happy) at how few revisions there were. I'd heard stories of books coming back with all but five words crossed out, asking for rewrites. I had tissues and Tylenol standing by but, thankfully, they weren't needed.

This round is all about the copy editing. And this copy editor is GOOD. Straightening up my prose right and left. Plus, she's a cat person, and had some helpful comments/suggestions on some of the text outside copy editing. 

It's hard to believe I'll have to wait until October for the finished product. The book seems to be just winging along. I've got sample pages for how the book will be laid out and I've been approving illustrations for over a month. The book is already listed on Amazon and on Random House's author page. 

This is it though. This week is my last chance to make any substantial revisions to the book, so I'm going through with a fine tooth comb. My writer friends have been there in spades for me, responding to my anxious e-mails about "which is the funnier cat litter joke" as though they had all the time in the world to spare. 

I'm surprisingly calm about the whole thing. The only thing that makes me ancy is thinking about all the publicity I need to stir up. I've got a mile-long to-do list when it comes to marketing and promotion and I'm at the point where I need to start making things happen. 

Got any great ideas for making a cat self-help book a bestseller? Send 'em my way!

Cheers,

Dena

I Survived the Drive From Hell

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I think I'll have it made into a bumper sticker: I Survived The Drive From Hell.  Thursday morning I left the house at 6:30 AM and pointed the car north toward Ohio. The first two hours were easy-peasy. Coffee, music, and 65 mph.

Once I hit the mountains in VA though, things changed. Snow flurries were constant and road conditions alternated between wet, slushy, and blowing snow. The outside temperature dropped from 28 to 16 in about a six mile range, and my windshield wiper fluid froze. This left me having to get behind semi's, relying on flying snow from their wheels to hit my windshield enough that I could run the wipers and see where I was going. I pretty much sat clenched and shallow breathing behind the wheel for 3 hours. (Although when I dared risk a glance to my right or left, the scenery was STUNNING. It looked like a pristine winter wonderland.) 

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