There are lots of exciting things going on around here, I tell you what.
Advance Check
My first advance check arrived last week with no fanfare whatsoever. In fact, I didn't even get to open it myself. I think it came the same day as my mail-order prescriptions. I was so excited about getting a refill of my face lotion stuff that I set the rest of the mail on one of the tables unopened. My husband was tidying the living room and dining room a day or two later, found it, opened it, and called me up saying, "Do you have any idea what you left lying around the house???"
But, yay! It's here! I've now been paid for the first time EVER for something that I wrote. Here's a picture of my check and me totally making out:
Aren't we hot? I think we look kind of like the original NICK & NORAH cover.
Birthday
Last Saturday, I turned 32. I also got up super early that day and boarded a plane to Phoenix to go celebrate my grandpa's 80th birthday. (His is actually tomorrow, but the party was a few days early.) I got to see a bunch of relatives whom I haven't seen for a while. I also got to meet relatives I'd never met before.
Here's Me, Bebe the tiny, tiny dog, and Grandpa. You'll note that we are looking at a different camera than the one from which this picture came. For reasons unknown to me, the photographer (my husband) used this particular style to photograph just about the entire trip.
Revision Notes
A package arrived on my front steps at around 4pm PST today. It came from NYC. From my editor. It contained a marked up copy of my manuscript as well as my revision letter!
So, yeah. That's the stuff. I have a phone call scheduled tomorrow with my editor to discuss these notes, so I'm very relieved that the package arrived in time. I'll have to remember that it can take a full week for packages to travel between New York and Seattle.
P.S. Today, I started a "Tenners Tell All" discussion on the Tenners' page. It's called "The Evolution of a Title." Check it out!