Cover Squee!!!

Cover Squee!!!!

 This first one is for Mourning Heaven (which should be on the Coming Soon page very soon, so you'll see this cover again!) This story is the one inspired by Bruce Springsteen's Magic CD, and I can't look at the cover without hearing "Gypsy Biker", "Magic", "The Last to Die", and "Devil's Arcade"--all of which are so insanely beautiful that I tear up when I hear them-- every single time.  I'll post Devil's Arcade from youtube.com so you guys can hear it again.  I'm so worried-- the cover is beautiful, the songs break my heart.  I'm so terrified I didn't do them justice.  I mean, I know it's not like I'm setting the bar high or anything  (Bruce!  I'm writing to Bruce!) but Goddess... this one really can't suck.

Mourning Heaven will be out on September 7th, and I'd say it's just in time for GRL and Yaoi-Con, but the fact is, the NEXT book will be out just in time for GRL and Yaoi-Con-- this one's a month and a half ahead of time!

And this one?  OMG-- it's DEX!  I LOVE this cover-- I know that the model doesn't look much like the original model I had in mind for Dex, but it's almost better, because he's my Dex.  And he's beautiful, and thoughtful and hurt, but he still looks like he can smile.  And Kane?  Kane's just yummy.  He looks solid and real and grounded, which is just what Dex needs.  Mary and I are still having Dex/Kane conversations, because the world still seems to revolve around those two points of view:  Dex--the planner, the worrier, the guy who's fussing with all the details and who has all the information, and Kane--who is admittedly not bright, but who has good instincts for when all of Dex's worried bullshit is absolutely unnecessary.  I LOVE that dynamic-- and I love this book.  I worry about Mourning Heaven living up to it's inspiration.  I'm still worried about people loving Dex as much as I do, but I am so head over heels in love with him and Kane that I can deal if Mary and I are the only ones who are.  Dex is out October 1st-- and that's just in time for Yaoi-Con and GRL!

Oh-- a note for those of you who have read Chase in Shadow, the prequel to Dex in Blue.  For those of you who have read it, there is a BIG BAD THING that almost happens.  The main action of Dex starts A DAY AND A NIGHT BEFORE the BIG BAD THING!  So you get to see Chase, lost and alone and afraid before that situation begins to resolve itself-- be aware.  Some people had a problem with the overlapping timelines of Keeping Promise Rock and Making Promises, and I did sort of the same thing here.  I always like to see what one set of people are doing while the other set is very definitely engaged.  You'll get a sense of that in this one here, and, of course, while this one is happening, Ethan's story is happening too, but I'll get to that later:-)

So that's it-- Cover Squee!!!!

Mate has been gone this week and he gets back tonight, but the kids have given me some fine moments while I've missed him.  Some examples?

Chicken, while coaching her brother's soccer team and trying to utilize the parent volunteers: "You, the guy whose kid I don't know the name of-- yeah, you!  Could you go over there and help them through this drill?  Matt?  Awesome.  Could you go over there and help them through this drill?  Thank you!  (Yes, she does sound like me, why do you ask?)

Squish:  Look, mommy!  You're getting old people hair!  (Not anymore!  Now I'm getting a mixed- bottle-of-dye hair, because I was NOT meeting my husband at the airport with old-people-hair, oh no I was not!)

Me, watching The Soup do a closeup of an Olympian's swim trunks : 0.o Dude, he's circumcised.
 Chicken: 0.0 Yet another thing I didn't want to know.

Mate, on the phone at around 11:20 two nights ago, calling from L.A. : Hey-- the whole room is shaking!
Me: Was it an earthquake?
Mate:  No-- some big guy just ran by my room or something.
Me, on text, ten minutes later after checking the internet: It was TOO an earthquake!  It was a 4.4!!!!

Me, on Twitter the other day:  Stuck in Big O Tires with a religious nut!  HELP!  Need rapture!  Now goddammit, NOW!  (I got the next best thing--I got told they could help me the next day but they were too busy that day.  I got to leave and I didn't have to listen to an explanation of why the church being the bride of Christ was not offensive to his manhood because that made him a woman.  No.  I shit you not.  That's where that conversation was heading.)  

Me, texting Mary on the same day:  OMG, there is a giant metal chicken sculpture at the dividing line between Fair Oaks and Orangevale.  Essentially, it's welcoming you to Orangevale with a six foot stainless steel cock!

Oh-- and speaking of Mary-- Mary has adopted a kitty who had a flatulence problem.  Poor kitty-- apparently it was returned twice to the pet adoption place because of this, and I felt bad, and more than a little bit mad.  If that worked with people I'd be single and childless, thank you very much!  Anyway, Mary is the kind of warm person (much like Roxie, Knittech, Samurai, Donna Lee and pretty likely most of you) who wouldn't mind having their very own Fartkitty.  Kitteh's fart, so do people, there are other things to worry about besides gas.  

Okay-- I know the boys said fun things this week-- they pretty much fart and I think it's funny, but I'm at a loss.  The one thing I do have for you is Big T.  Big T was not trying to be funny-- he was just petting the cat.  But it hit me as he talked to the cat and the cat didn't correct him or try to respond, that he was funny and charming and articulate talking to the damned cat, and I suddenly wished that he could talk to everybody that way.  Of course, if he could do it without scratching our asses, that would be a plus, but that part aside, there's a lot of him that gets hidden because he's nervous.  I have faith it will show itself to the world someday.  

Oh yeah-- and Zoomboy?  Shall we talk orthodontia?  Lets.  Zoomboy has been referred to a specialty orthodontist.  Apparently his jaw is way too screwed up for your average everyday orthodontist, and he needs something SPECIAL.  Dude.  We're still paying off the big kids teeth. I hope Zoomboy likes his when he gets them-- that could have been a car, man, that could have been a car.  And THAT'S the end.  In the meantime, I'll leave you with this, because it's true!