Fruition

The day is here at last.

All those years ago, back  when the dream of turning a simple little journal snippet into a published work was, well, just a dream, I dreamed of this day.

I couldn't help but imagine the day I would sit at a small table, with a small stack of books by my side, and a long line of well-wishers snaking towards the door. Folks from far and wide would be there, family and friends and strangers alike, clamoring for my signature on one of my books. There would even be folks camped outside, waiting to be the first in line (they promised!)

OK. None of that probably will happen.

But today, December 10, 2011, I am having a book signing. My first. I will sit at a small table with a small stack of books at my side and I will sign my name in my books for friends, family and even strangers who make their way to Destrehan High School (because, unfortunately, there isn't a book store within 50 miles of here). 

And it will be one of the most memorable days of my life -- like my wedding day, and the day that wonderful creature was born and placed in my arms.

I am proud. I accomplished something I've always wanted to do. And I persevered through a long period of silence and doubt.

Today, there is a book in this world, with a real ISBN number, with my name on it. Heck, my picture is even on it! And, from what my readers are telling me, it's pretty good.

Holy cow! I am on Amazon.com!

And, hopefully soon, I'll be in a Barnes and Noble somewhere.

So, forgive me if I take today. For me. To pat my little self on the back. It's a big day.

One of my longtime coach friends just messaged me to "remember to smell the roses." I plan to savor every second.

Wordless Wednesday -- Signed

Book One

Me, signing my very first book.

For Lora.

November 29, 2011

Practice makes perfect

Artwork by Lora

Confession time:

When I was a moody, broody tweenage kid locked in my room with my Shaun Cassidy and Donny Osmond posters, I used to practice my autograph.

Raise your hand if you did too. Come on. You know you did.

Back in the day I imagined myself as some sort of famous person. A concert pianist perhaps. Or a movie star. We didn't have the Disney Channel back then, so there were no dreams of becoming a famous Disney star. We had the Brady Bunch, and all those roles were already taken.

And, yes, more often than I can count, I dreamed of writing a wonderful, big, thick, epic novel.

The trouble was, I was never very good at fiction.

I pretty much always knew I would be a writer of some kind. Newspapers. Magazines. Books. But nobody really asks you to sign a newspaper or a magazine -- unless you were Shaun Cassidy or Donny Osmond and it was 16 Magazine or Tiger Beat.

Nevertheless, I did practice writing my name. (I even practiced writing "Lori Osmond" a few times, just for fun.)

And now, here it is, some 40 years later and I am doing it again.

I have a book.  A non-fiction book, of course. "Adopting in America: The Diary of a Mom in Waiting," is a true story. It's the story of how my husband, Marty, and I managed to persevere through six years of infertility, turned to adoption and, by some miracle, managed to find and adopt the most perfect baby girl without selling our souls or any of our body parts. No, it wasn't easy. No, it wasn't fun. But we did it. And I wrote it all down as it was happening. Now I am sharing it with the world in a book I self-published (with a whole lot of help from some wonderful professionals).

It's available now in paperback at Amazon.com, and in digital versions for the Kindle and the Nook.

And, about a week from today, the nice (maybe even handsome?) UPS man is going to deliver a whole bunch of my books. 300 of them to be exact. And I will have to write my name in some of them. Apparently, if the requests I'm getting are any indication, a lot of them. And we're hoping to have a little book signing for family and friends and locals on Dec. 10th.

So, yes. I am practicing. Because, despite the fact that I have always prided myself on my penmanship (and I will even address your wedding invitations for you! I'm very cheap!)  I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. How, exactly, do I write my name?

Do I scribble, like I am so busy I don't have time for this?

 

Do I use my regular signature, the one I use on my checks? Um. Better not.
 

Do I write with a flourish?

 

Do I write it big? Keep it small? Slanted sideways? Curvy? Black ink? Blue ink? Purple ink to match the cover? Should I come up with some clever catch phrase to go with each signature?




Is there a Google answer for this?

Turns out, yes! There is! With advice about everything from which pen to use to what to write above your name. Thank goodness. They say to write neatly and legibly because, someday, you might be famous.

So, how about ...











Still practicing ....



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