The Dragons Are Done, Dude!

A huge weight has been lifted off the workdesk here. I am so thrilled. I just sent off Hush, Little Dragon to Harry N. Abrams, and now I am off to haul buns on other projects. I know the older you get, life gets more complicated... but the summer of 2007 has been plain nutty. The only thing I DO NOT need to add to it is FedEx losing my package. I would quite honestly... die. Flatline, people.

Typically, I hand deliver my books, but because of the overshot deadline and other work stockpiling, I am not able to do so. Just letting you know, my heart will be in my throat till tomorrow morning when I hear they have it in the office. So I was wondering what measures I should take when shippig it. Almost all artwork I will seal in a plastic bag, in case the packaging gets wet. I'll also reinforce all cardboard with at least two layers. For my books, I hand make a box, typically lined with bubble wrap. But these I usually deliver in person. I was wondering, how many book artist break up the shipment into two or three packages in case they lose it, only half the book needs to be repainted. I almost did this, but thought that might be tempting fate, tooo much.

I did give a bit of attitude to the girl behind the counter when she asked me the declared value. I answered, "More than FedEx can ever pay me", but it's true. Factor together all the work hours, the stress level, and material costs there is NO way they'd be able to repay it. At that point I'd call it an omen, and restart from scracth.

So, how to celebrate finishing this book? Sue and I joined the gym! Yes, sitting for three months straight, barely moving with an injured knee means the flab has invaded. High school weight here we come. No, I am serious. Stop making fun!