Whuddup?

I've been so bad. Sorry guys for not being here, even when I said I'd be back in my last post. I've had a whirlwind past few months, filled with job-changing, life-settling, and stuff like that.

Still no excuse, I know.

But I won't dwell on the past. Onward and upward, as I've been telling myself.

Jacob Smith is Exceptionally Average is with its editor, hopefully getting some magic fairy dust that will make it into the book I know everyone will love (my friend Emily did a first editing pass, and really thinks it has potential, fingers crossed). I've also been planning out its two sequels. Don't worry, the first book is entirely standalone, so you'll only have to commit to one book. But I promise you, I have some big plans for Jake Smith.

With that said, I'll do a cover wrap reveal of the book in all its glory. I'm quite pleased with it, because even though I had some severe limitations, I didn't have to compromise too much on my vision of it, so I'm really happy. I do one day want to use the fabulous PhatPuppy Art, but that may be a while. Once I get the final dimensions of the thickness of the book, I'll be able to add a spine and the back copy.

So that'll be another reveal. ;)

Here goes the book cover.

If you're a book blogger and are interested in reading an ARC of Jacob Smith please email me and I will lovelovelove you forever. I'll send you a physical edition of the book, plus anything else to promote it. Dress me up like a monkey, record me singing "My Heart Will Go On" - anything if that makes reading and reviewing my humble little book more enticing. I will embarrass myself to make it work.

Hmmm... What else? I have a few cooking stories to share, at the behest of my friends Cbel and Sam. Where do you guys think I should start?

I have an idea. And that will be the next post. FYI for those who don't know, I'm an absolutely terrible cook. Worst part is, I actually try. Just something about substituting, not following the recipe, not get it. I blame my cooking equipment, but I don't think that's it. I don't know. All I have to say is "chutney" is not "curry".

And that'll be my next blog post. I promise. Gimme two days and a glass of winter cider and I'll have it up here.

I won't leave you guys hanging for so long again. Promise.

Erin x

Back in action and a short story

Sorry guys, I know you've missed me. Just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten you.

So a quick update: Extraordinarily Average has been completed and is going through a painful editing process. They say that the best writers are those who can edit. Well, I hope that's not true. Ask a friend of mine: she spotted a massive typo in the second paragraph of the entire book. And I mean massive.

I've also started outlining my next book (jumping on the vampire bandwagon, but it was a bandwagon that I initially jumped on way back in 2002, so I'm actually ahead of the game - more on that when I get to it), and my husband and I are talking about possibly doing a joint book after that. So who knows, it'll be interesting coming up.

And on top of that, I've been trying to do some entries for advertising awards. Which in of itself is always both a pleasure and a chore, aka I love doing it and coming up with great ideas. It's always a strange thing to compare advertising writing to literature writing.

So, in honor of my latest shenanigans, here is one of my short story entries into NYC Midnight. In these competitions, you have a weekend to write a 1,000 word short story with a required location, object, and genre. This entry was one of my favorites that I did for it, and while perhaps a bit cliched, I still think it's fun.

So here goes. My given location was a rehab clinic, my object a wig, and my genre was sci-fi. At least the sci-fi part was easy for me. There was a lot that I wanted to say, but couldn't given the 1,000 word limit. Enjoy.