Grateful

Just so you all don't think I've fallen off the planet entirely (at least those of you who are not friends with me on Facebook), I wanted to post a quick update before I head off to Paris for Thanksgiving. I know, I know - it's a tough life I lead. Seriously though, I'm beyond ready for a break from Russia. No snow for a few day will be a nice change, especially since I'll be in Montana for Christmas. Plus I get to see some of my family members who I don't get to see nearly often enough. And it's freaking Paris! How could I not be excited?

Writing has been awesome this month. I finished the rough draft of my new YA Contemporary on Sunday and I'm really excited to dig into revisions next week. Then it's off to a few betas (a nice mix of tough love and cheerleading, both of which I need in equal measure). I wasn't sure I'd be able to get this sucker written in three weeks, but despite work, working out, having a toddler - to include multiple major potty training fails - I made it work. My expectations are low, but it's nice to be reminded why I put myself through the tortuous submission process: because I LOVE to write. I'm grateful for so many things this year, everything from water filters to my job to the fact that I found my passion in life (it's writing, in case I didn't make that clear). Life is good. Cold, oftentimes awkward, and generally inconvenient, but good.

I also made a fake cover for the heck of it (since the NaNo website has a spot for one and it was killing me to see a blank box just sitting there). I took this photo from Office clipart, played around with it on PicMonkey, and voila!

It's not perfect, but I was limited in dimensions by NaNo and I wanted to fit in the title and as much of the girl's face as possible. Considering she's some random model, the photo was kind of perfect for a book about a girl who pretends to be someone else. She even looks the way I envisioned my MC, so yay! Making fake book covers is such a fun way to procrastinate...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!