Like Pulling Teeth. Out of my Scalp 6: Sublime felines.

Holy cats, I’m self-published.

(Blinks)

Oh, there’s a bunch of digital rigmarole [rigital digamarole] I’m still sorting out – such as the appearance of the actual Amazon page that features the book, getting the “LOOK INSIDE!” feature set up, and all that other none-too-challenging jazz to do.  But then, I stop dealing with that (and the student reports I have to type up, and the Flash games I’ve been playing, and the constant Rifftrax Twilight vids I’ve been watching), and it hits me …

Holy cats.  I’m a self-published author.

The book’s been available now since about lunch today (August 22, 2013).  And yet, I’ve been a little hesitant to toot about, given that I want to make the amazon page and other associated webpages really sing.  But for now, I can’t help but toot like crazy (or tweet, I guess they call it), because today, for the first time in my life, I have published a book. Two emotions hold sway over my mind right now.  The first is thankfulness – to God, to my friends, my dear family, my awesome editor, my great collaborators, my inspiring students, my amazing illustrator, and the gallons and gallons of cola that fueled the whole ordeal.  The other feeling I have is indescribable, so until more sophisticated language comes to mind for me to more adequately express myself,  I shall simply have to settle for the following:

Holy cats.

EDIT:  BTW, if you want to check out the fruits of my (and my illustrator’s) labor, you can find it here.

LoS Large coverLoS back cover

Daily Diversion #155: Who Needs a Pillow?

Who needs a pillow? Not Miss Zizi Jeanmaire.

Miss Z

Miss Z

“Although the sphere and importance of vision were expanding at this time, to say that visual experience was becoming autonomous would be imprecise. The aesthetic of illusionism engaged viewers as embodied spectators, physically drawn into an image or alert to beat a hasty retreat. One measure of an illusion’s success was its ability to provoke a bodily response-an impulse to touch or to flee. The challenges that modern life and modern illusions presented to modern subjects were too great for vision to handle on its own.”-from the essay Seeing, Touching, Fleeing by Michael Leja (Moving Pictures American Art and Early Film 1880-1910)

[Book Nerd News] Elmore Leonard is Dead!

Elmore Leonard Dead: Famed American Novelist Dies At Age 87 [courtesy HUFF POST BOOKS]

Elmore Leonard, Who Refined the Crime Thriller, Dies at 87 [courtesy THE NEW YORK TIMES]

Elmore Leonard dies at 87; master of the hard-boiled crime novel [courtesy LOS ANGELES TIMES]