Kitty Hawk

Hello Friends,

As many of my communications lately have been of the “sales pitch” sort, I wanted to take this opportunity to post a “personal” entry, something I haven’t done in a while.

We are here, hours away from the official launch of Fireflight, and you might think I’d be giddy and bouncing around, heart hammering in my chest. I would expect the same.

Instead I’m…reserved. Not unenthusiastic, no no. I’m completely brimming over with excitement, especially after getting my hands on the first ever physical copy of this tale in its final form.

That moment, earlier today, cemented it all. It’s the first time I have fully felt, in every part of myself, like an author, through and true. This digital age in which we were randomly selected to exist together makes some things incredibly easy, like book publishing, which is a great and necessary thing, but it unfortunately strips some of the tactile feel out of the process.

Up until today, the cover was just colored pixels on my screen. In creating the image, I was only manipulating one’s and zero’s, using my IT skills to fudge through software and getting a result I was happy with. Same with the manuscript…just pixels forming words on the screen, easily manipulated, or even wiped away.

Today, the firewing became real. I was Geppetto, staring down at his wooden creation come alive. (Hopefully the analogy ends there, and my creation doesn’t turn out to be a mischievous little troublemaker. Kidding.)

So, yes, I’ve had my slightly giddy moments today, showing off the copy to those around me. Ultimately, though, I’m calm. I feel an assurance, I suppose, something that could easily just be my imagination doing a number on my emotion receptors. Or not, who knows? Maybe this tale will be well received in the coming days/months/years, and the things I’m expressing will mean something more.

Why even talk about it? Well, if there’s one thing I’ve always promised you, dear readers (at least implicitly), it’s that I will forever express myself with honesty. At the moment, these are the marbles rattling around inside my head. Take it or leave it.

Ultimately, I think I feel this sense of calm because everything is now out of my hands, for better or worse. The copy is locked, the print edition is in good shape, and unless we experience a worldwide cataclysmic opening of the Doors tomorrow, you’ll have your copies ready to take you away.

I’m happy, my friends. No matter what eventually happens with this book, tomorrow I make my dream a reality. Here’s hoping you think it’s cool.

A Very Happy Reading

gg

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