Dogs Have Their Own Clock

 

Paperback Edition Cover Featuring My Original Artwork

The sun is just now rising and I've consumed half a pot of coffee already. Those of you who know me even in passing know that I am not a 'oohhh! look at the sunrise!' kind of person but daylight savings time dictates to humans that we move the clock back an hour. Dogs? They don't care and don't follow those rules. Because dogs are smarter than humans most days. That being said, my two Beasties had me up at ten minutes to six this morning. Ugh. But the positive in that is that I will get my spin bike work out done earlier than usual and have more time to get some projects done that have been lagging.

The month of October flew past- as it does. Pandemic or not, it was busy and full of autumn projects and work. The restaurant is closed for the season but the household stuff that gets put off through the summer looms come mid-Septemeber and October is my 'catch up' month. It's not exciting and I won't bore the few of you that read this but it's always satisfying to put the house to rights after so many months of using it only as a place to sleep. Halloween was not very satisfying this year. In fact, I think this was one of the saddest Halloweens I've ever been through. My heart broke to see how many families went above and beyond to provide a fun holiday for their kids while at the same time trying to keep them and everyone else safe. I want holidays to go back to 'normal' but it seems as if that may be a few years from now and maybe the old way will never come back and we'll need to establish a new normal. Day by day my feelings and thoughts vacillate on this. While it was summer and I was hyper-focused on work I kept my vision and worries to a very small point of consciousness- my restaurant, my employees, my customers. All safety precautions outlined by the Health Department and basically the same scenario day after day for 9 weeks or so. That's not to say that it wasn't stressful- it absolutely was but there was a focus that I don't have now and my worrying is allowed free reign. 

 And now it's November. Today my shipment of paperbacks for my book is arriving with world-wide distribution happening on the 6th. The limited-edition hardback was approved and most have been sent out about a week ago. My next endeavor is how to approach independent booksellers in my area and in New Orleans about carrying the paperback edition- ditto for libraries. I've been researching the accepted ways to approach both entities but I haven't yet decided on how exactly I will go about it. There are 4 bookstores and 1 library I would like to ideally have the title in but I really need to take the time to sit down and figure it all out. If any of you have knowledge or contacts in this marketing area please shoot me a message :-)

 Book 2 is about midway completed and Book 3 is sketched out. That may conclude that series, I'm not entirely sure just yet. My goal is a book a year for a minimum of 3 years...

Once the winter holiday season is done I also have some painting projects I would like to do- painting with words is wonderful but my soul also needs color and movement to stay whole. There are some children's chairs awaiting scenery and two canvases that keep calling to me. 

 Right now, though, I'm going to feed the Beasties, change into work out clothes and hop onto my bike.

Take Care, Stay Safe, Wear Your Masks, and Vote Blue

~Annie